The Golden Trio: Year One
by notsosecretlyramona
Summary: The Wizarding World has been at peace for 19 years, but that doesn't make it any easier for Rose, Albus, and Scorpius to start at Hogwarts. There are a lot of expectations as the children of famous parents, not to mention classes, drama, and enemies around every corner. Follow the new "Golden Trio" as they battle their way through first year.
1. Platform Nine and Three-Quarters

**Chapter One: Platform Nine and Three-Quarters**

**Rose Weasley**

* * *

The sun shone brightly on the morning of September first. So brightly Rose Weasley figured it must be mocking her.

Among the general hubbub of King's Cross station, she could have lost her brother if it weren't for his signature Weasley red hair. As it was, she could barely see him a few meters ahead, weaving in and out of the crowd, as she herself was stuck behind a muggle couple, wheeling her luggage.

"Hugo, come back!" their mother called, attempting to politely shoulder past the couple.

Rose's father chuckled. "You'd think he's more excited about your first year at Hogwarts than you are. Ginny was the same way at his age."

Rose managed a weak chuckle, but her stomach was doing too many flips to manage words.

"Are you sure you don't want a pet?" her father asked. "We could always swing by Diagon Alley and Floo you to Hogwarts later-"

"I'm fine, Dad." Rose was worried enough about looking after herself for the next year; the last thing she needed was an owl or a toad to take care of.

"Well, I'm sure any of your cousins will let you use an owl. Remember to write every Wednesday and Sunday like we agreed. Or if any Slytherins give you nonsense. Or if a boy so much as looks at you-"

Ronald continued listing everything that could go slightly wrong—and echoing Rose's own fears—as they passed through the brick wall to Platform 9 ¾.

They found Hermione and Hugo already on the platform chatting with a group of the Weasley clan. Hermione, arm around Hugo so he couldn't run off again, was laughing with Aunt Angelina. Cousin Roxanne was glaring at some poor soul across the platform while her brother, Fred, was talking to his friend Tyler Jordan.

Rose was relieved to see her family. After all, she was one of the youngest kids, and everyone else had managed to survive Hogwarts before her.

"Hey, Rose," Fred called. "Ready for your first trip on the Hogwarts Express? Don't get caught empty handed. Upper years like to hex first years."

"You know, break you in a little," Tyler added.

"So let me help you out," Fred went on, "considering you're my baby cousin and all. Just take one of our—OW!"

Rose jumped to see Aunt Angelina towering over Fred and pinching his ear. "I'll be taking that. And whatever other junk your father gave you. Empty your pockets. You too, Tyler, move it!"

"Don't worry, Rose," said Roxanne beside her. "I'll kick anyone's arse if they try to hex you. And Fred's, too, just cause."

"Nobody will be hexing anybody or kicking anyone's arse," said Rose's mother sternly. Then, she knelt down and put her arms on her daughter's shoulders. "You'll be just fine sweetie. If you're nervous, just stick to your cousins, and you'll make plenty of your own friends in no time.

"Just as long as it's not that git," said Ron, indicating a scrawny blond boy standing with his parents. "So that's little Scorpius. Can't believe that weasel Malfoy reproduced… Make sure to beat him on every test, Rosie. Thank God you inherited your mother's brains."

"Ron, for heaven's sake," her mom cut in, exasperated. "Don't try to turn them against each other before they've even started school. And watch your language."

Rose's father smiled sheepishly. "You're right, sorry. Don't get _too_ friendly with him, though, Rosie. Granddad Weasley would never forgive you if you married a pureblood.

Before Rose could sputter out a response, James ran up to them yelling, "Teddy's back there! Just seen him!" He paused to catch his breath. It was curious, Rose thought, that Teddy was here. After all, he'd graduated two years ago. Shouldn't he be at Auror training?

"Just seen him!" James continued. "And guess what he was doing? _Snogging Victoire!_"

Lily squeeled while Rose wrinkled her nose. Meanwhile, the adults—including James' parents, who had come up behind him—either shrugged or smiled knowingly.

"And you interrupted them?" Aunt Ginny asked. "You are _so_ like Ron-"

"And he said he'd come to see her off! And then he told me to go away." James' mouth hung open when he was still met by blank stares. "He was _snogging _her!"

"Oh, it would be lovely if they got married," Lily squealed. "Teddy would really be part of the family then! He could move into the Burrow and have lots of babies and-"

"It's nearly eleven," Uncle Harry cut in, Rose was sure, to get his daughter off the topic of babies. "You'd better get on board."

Roxanne punched Fred and James in the arms and ran away. "Race ya!" she called back.

Yelling curses towards Roxanne and goodbyes back to their families, James, Fred, and Tyler grabbed their luggage and ran for the train.

"You should get moving too, sweetie," Hermione said with a kiss on Rose's cheek.

Ronald leaned over to kiss her, as well. "Remember, if you're not in Gryffindor, we'll disinherit you. But no pressure."

"Ron!"

Everyone laughed at her parents bickering except herself and Albus. Seeing the same panicked expression on her cousin's face gave her a small wave of relief. Rose often felt lost among her family, being so young, but at least Al was starting Howarts the same year.

But the relief was short-lived as the others kept joking around on the subject of sorting. She accepted a round of goodbye hugs and kisses in silence as she made her way to the train. Her stomach was doing flips again. She wasn't worried about her house; Victoire had shocked the family six years ago when she was sorted into Hufflepuff. Lucy had followed suit, and Louis was in Ravenclaw.

No, her fear was something much bigger, and she had never told anyone. Rose had had the same nightmare all summer. "Rose Weasley!" Professor McGonogal would call. She'd walk to the front of the Great Hall, all eyes on her, and the Headmaster would place the Sorting Hat on her head. The second it touched her scalp, the Hat would burst into laughter. "This is not a Witch!" it yelled as the whole, faceless crowd laughed along. "There is no place for you at Hogwarts!"

The previous week, Rose had barely slept at all, knowing she would have to go to Ollivander's and buy a wand. As it was, it had taken nearly half an hour, the ancient wandmaker handing her wand after wand, before an eight-inch wand of willow and unicorn hair had glowed at the tip. "A pansy wand," Roxanne had scoffed later.

Rose was awoken from her thoughts by the final whistle of the Hogwarts Express. She leaned out of the nearest window, a nervous smile plastered on her face, and waved a last goodbye to her parents as the train lurched forward.

"C'mon, let's find a compartment," Al said, suddenly behind her.

"Don't do that," Rose grumbled. "That sneaking up thing. And where did you come from?"

Al laughed. "Talking to my Dad. Almost missed the train. You know how he is." Rose finally smiled in earnest. For an Auror, Uncle Harry could be quite scatterbrained.

"I think I saw James and Roxanne go that way," Rose said, pointing right.

Al pursed his lips. "The farther away we are from Rox, the better." And so, luggage and owl in tote, Albus grabbed Rose's wrist and dragged her the opposite way down the hall.

* * *

**A/N: Hello all, and welcome to my story! I'm home for the summer with a broken leg and nothing to do, so I figured I'd pick this one up. It's fully plotted out, but never written. To think, I just graduated college and I haven't posted a story on here since high school!**

**As I'm sure you noticed, I changed the order of things around a bit, but most of the events and dialogue match up to the canon Epilogue. From there, I'll be taking over the story of their Hogwarts years through Rose, Al, and Scorpius' perspectives. I'm trying not to pin it down to one genre and instead include a bit of everyting-drama, romance, action, the whole shebang-so I hope you all enjoy and stick along for the ride!**

**~Nina**


	2. The Hogwarts Express

**Chapter Two: The Hogwarts Express**

**Scorpius Malfoy**

* * *

Scorpius sunk into the plush seat of the Hogwarts Express. He was grateful for some privacy after the crowd on the platform. Beside him, mercifully silent as always. Was his friend Evander Nott, and purring at his feet was Evander's cat.

"This one is pretty empty." Due to the silence of their own compartment, Scorpius and Evander could hear every word uttered in the hallways. This one in particular was followed by a hand opening the compartment door to reveal the last people Scorpius expected to see. The owner of the hand was none other than Albus Potter, flanked by a Weasley girl—Rose, if he was not mistaken.

Rose froze and immediately locked eyes with Scorpius. The blond smiled, refusing to back down from the prolonged eye contact, and pulled that cat onto his lap. "He's right, those seats are empty."

"That's Malfoy," Rose hissed to her companion—did she think she was being quiet? Although annoyed, Scorpius didn't let his smile falter.

"All the more reason. Rox and James won't bother us in here. Albus made no attempt to lower his voice as he lifted trunk into the overhead storage.

"Scorpius Malofy." He offered his hand once Potter's were free. "And that's Evander Nott."

"Pleasure" said Albus, taking his hand.

Albus elbowed Rose when she didn't respond. "Charmed, I'm sure."

"What's the cat's name?" asked Albus.

"Ambrosius Magnus Pantaleon III. Ambrosius for short."

"That's a long name for such a small thing."

The two boys fell into conversation easily, first about wands—they both had dragon heartstring cores, it turned out—and then about classes.

"I heard Divination is taught by a centaur," Scorpius said.

"Yeah, his name is Firenze. Nice bloke, a bit spacey of course. He's come by the Borrow on a couple holidays."

"I still think Divination is a load of bullocks."

"I never said it wasn't."

Rose and Evander, meanwhile, sat in silence. Evander was in his element, but Rose looked like she had sat on a quill. Scorpius didn't think himself to be a spiteful person, but he found Rose's discomfort as amusing as Albus' company.

"I like you, Albus," Scorpius said suddenly. He meant what he said, but he was also curious to see how the Potter boy would respond.

To his surprise, Albus laughed. "I like you too, Scorpius."

"I have a feeling we're going to be competing for top of our year." Scorpius looked to Rose for a response, but she only averted her gaze. Sure, Rose seemed smart, driven, even, but she lacked a certain ambition that gleamed in Albus' eyes. "I just hope we're in the same house," Scorpius added. "I'd hate to see you earn all those points against me."

"Like we're going to be in Slytherin," Rose snapped.

Scorpius clicked his tongue. "Tut, tut, I see someone's been listening to Daddy."

Rose shot up. "I do not-"

"Calm down, Rose," Scorpius cut in. "I was only joking. I'm sure your father is a very smart man, and I don't know what he's said about me, but I'm really not half bad-"

"Oh, I'm sure you're at least half bad."

The new voice had come from the doorway. The four first-years looked up to find a strange sight: a tall, dark-skinned boy with bleached-blond dreadlocks. Scorpius didn't know his name or family, but he had noticed the boy earlier at the station with a group of Weasleys. He was surprised to see that the boy had changed into Slytherin robes.

"Oi, I found some Slytherins!" he called, and sure enough, he was soon flanked by two Weasleys, one Gryffindor and one Ravenclaw.

The boys closed the door behind them and squeezed their way into Rose and Albus' seat.

"Scorpius Malfoy," the boy with dreads said, "and Evander Nott."

"How do you know my name?" Evander spoke for the first time since boarding.

"We make it our business to know everyone at Hogwarts," the more cheerful Weasley replied.

"Tyler Jordan, fourth year," the first boy introduced himself. "These are my associates, Fred and Louis Weasley."

"We're cousins, not brothers," Louis added.

Scorpius looked from the dark-skinned Fred to Louis, who was sporting a strawberry-blond combover. "I never would have guessed."

After Fred assured Albus that his sister wasn't following him, met by Albus' visible relief, the boys launched into a pitch for the products in their pockets. Some Scorpius recognized from Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, and others the boys boasted to be of their own invention. After giving Albus a sucker that temporarily turned his skin purple, Fred offered Rose a love potion "for that fine young Malfoy boy," earning himself a punch in the stomach.

"I swear, it works!" Tyler insisted. "Louis slipped me some last week and now I can't keep my hands off of him." Tyler puckered his lips and leaned toward Louis. The blond tried to shield himself, but Tyler wrestled him to the ground. It took nothing less than a full-body-binding jinx to keep Louis from kicking, and finally Tyler planted a loud, wet kiss on his lips.

"Ugh!" cried Rose at the same time Evander said, "Um, eew."

The food cart soon came by and Tyler and Fred insisted on buying treats for everyone. "We'll be rich soon, anyway," Tyler insisted. "Right, Louis?" Louis only grunted in response. He was still jinxed on the floor, as the kindly food lady pretended not to notice.

When Scorpius thought the couldn't possibly fit another chocolate frog in his stomach, Fred stood up and announced that they would be arriving soon. "Better change into your robes." After animated goodbyes and the exchange of more gifts—Scorpius ended up with a handful of coins that blinked in and out of existence—Tyler un-jinxed Louis and led the way out of the compartment. Louis indignantly straightened his robe and re-charmed his comb-over as the door slid shut behind him.


	3. The Journey to Hogwarts

**Chapter Three: The Journey to Hogwarts**

**Albus Potter**

* * *

The journey to Hogwarts Castle was simply uneventful.

All the stories Albus had heard—of invisible thestrals pulling carriages, the grand front gate, and the looming Entrance Hall—went out the window as the first years were immediately herded from the train to a dingy dirt pathway. Albus found himself regretting his father's genetic meager stature. He knew that each and every first year would be paraded through the Great Hall during the Sorting Ceremony, but it would have eased his nerves to catalog his classmates as soon as they were corralled. After all, he would be subjected to them for the next seven years.

Scorpius stood beside him on tiptoe, also trying to get a better view of everyone, while Rose on his other side seemed to be trying to shrink into the ground. But even grumpy shell-shocked Rose was a comfort to Albus. He gave his cousin's hand a reassuring squeeze—out of sight, of course. Visible signs of affection towards Rose tended to be returned with visible signs of aggression.

"Ferst years, this way!" came the familiar voice of Hagrid as he appeared far above the heads of the first-year crowd. Where he had managed to hide moments before, Albus was curious to know.

"We'd better get a move on," Scorpius whispered in his ear. "All those boats look caked in about twenty years of grime. But see that one over there? It looks like it might only have ten. Wouldn't want to miss out."

Albus cracked a smile and let himself be herded along by the crowd of his thus-far-uncataloged classmates.

"Albus! Rosie!" Boomed Hagrid once they had reached the front of the line. Beofre either could reply, they were pulled into a bone-crushing hug. "'Nother Potter and Weasley at Hogwarts! Jus' last year it was yer brother Jamsie layin' eyes on the castle fer the ferst time."

Albus mustered what he hoped was his most genuine smile. As usual, he found himself grimacing at the mention of James, and as usual, he wondered why absolutely no one seemed to get that he didn't want to hear about his perfect brother and every perfect thing he did. James left for Hogwarts with an easy smile and an air of confidence. That night, they received an owl saying he was in Gryffindor. A week later, an owl saying that he had excelled at his first week of charms. That winter, a letter saying that he wouldn't be home for Christmas, because he just had _too_ _many _friends to visit.

Perfect James Potter.

A petite witch cleared her throat behind them. "Are we supposed to get on the boats or-?"

Hagrid smiled sheepishly and sputtered. "Yes, of course. Ferst years this way. Into the boats. Four per boat. Move along now."

"You didn't have to apologize to her. She was being a twit," Scorpius spoke for the first time behind them.

"No need to be like that," said Hagrid. "She's jus' nervous. All ye ferst years are."

Scorpius shrugged. "I'm not."

"And who might you be?" Hagrid asked.

"Really?" Scorpius asked with a raised eyebrow. "Blond hair. Grey eyes. Parchment skin. Not even a guess?"

"He was being polite," Rose said flatly.

"I, err, yes," stuttered Hagrid. "I've heard of yer. Scorpius Malfoy, right? Surprised ter see yer with those two is all."

"I like to cause a ruckus wherever I go," Scorpius replied.

Hagrid roared with laughter. "I know a bit about that. Half giant, yer know."

Scorpius smiled. "I never would have guessed." He offered Hagrid his hand, which the groundskeeper awkwardly shook even though his hand was four times the size.

Albus ended up squished in a boat next to Rose, with Scorpius across the way with a round faced boy who looked like he was going to be sick. From the nerves or the boat, Albus wasn't sure.

The boats lurched forward of their own accord, earning oohs and ahs from the scattered muggleborns. Albus took his eyes away from their pudgy companion to check on Rose, who was staring ahead at the castle with lips pursed.

"So, what house are you hoping for?" Scorpius asked the boy next to him with a tone of polite conversation. The boy simply stared at him with eyes wide and mouth open. "Ah, so Hufflepuff it is. Don't worry. Good house. My cousin was a Hufflepuff and he's just starting his Auror training now."

Rose turned to him and said, "Wait, your cousin? Hufflepuff? You mean Teddy? Teddy Lupin?"

"Yes, Rose, Teddy is my cousin, too. Well actually just mine, he's not actually your-"

"_Our_ Teddy?!" Rose was still dumbfounded.

Albus laughed, a little more nervously than he meant to. "We don't own him, Rose. You're starting to sound like James."

"Humph." Only Rose could make a sigh sound like a word.

"You see, Rose," said Scorpius. "My cousin Nymphadora and Remus Lupin loved each other very, very much, so one day-"

"Don't make her madder Scorpius," said Albus. As much as he loved his cousin, he didn't want to referee a fight right now. He was too focused on his own nerves.

Scorpius shrugged and surprisingly let it go. "Anyway, yeah, Teddy was a Hufflepuff. So was his mum. I mean, they weren't Malfoys, but maybe it means I have a chance."

"A chance for what?" asked Albus.

"To not be in Slytherin."

"Wait, why?" asled Albus. "Your whole family was in Slytherin. Don't you want to, you know. Keep up the pattern. Make your mum and dad proud. That kind of stuff?"

"How could they not be proud of me with these good looks?" said Scorpius with a suave grin.

"Really, mate?" asked Albus flatly.

"Okay, okay. Everyone expects me to be an arse, so why not play along?" Scorpius sighed and put his head in his hands. Any trace of amusement was gone instantly, Albus noticed. "But seriously, what's the point? Malfoys were the laughing stocks of the Great War. Cowards. Turncoats. Practically blood traitors, really. You think I could sleep a night in the Slytherin dorms without getting hexed?"

Actually, Albus hadn't thought about that at all. In his head, there were basically Death Eaters or Weasleys. Slytherins or Gryffindors, cut and dry.

Then again, he never felt much at home in the Weasley-Potter clan. There was Rose, of course, whose eternally sour disposition had wormed its way into his heart. But this Gryffindor bravery that all his cousins had just seemed to make them loud and stupid. Albus didn't want to throw enchanted balls around a field or go out and battle a dementor. Actually, he didn't even want to lock himself up and read books—then Ravelclaw would be easy. And there was _no_ way he was a Hufflepuff.

"Damned if I do damned if I don't, really," Scorpius went on. "It's not like they'd want me in Gryffindor."

Albus gave him a thin-lipped grin. "Sorry, mate."

"Hey, what's your name?" Scorpius nudged the boy beside him.

The boy wore the same terrified expression, but this time he managed to sputter, "L-Landon."

"Pleased to meet you, Landon. Scorpius Malfoy," he said with a handshake. Then, casually wiping Landon's sweat off on his own pants, he turned back to Albus. "Say, Albus. What do you say we both join Landon in Hufflepuff? Unless of course you were trying for Gryffindor. Family pride and all that."

Albus laughed, pretending Scorpius hadn't hit the nail on the head. _The Sorting Hat takes your choice into account_, his father had told him at the platform. So if he just thought _Gryffindor please please please oh please Gryffindor_ hard enough, the Hat would take pity on him?

Meanwhile, Scorpius asked, "So, you in Rosie?"

"Humph."

* * *

Albus' nerves rattled as the first-year students were lead into an antechamber. A slender man with dark hair and a smile too wide for his face read the sorting rules from his scroll. Albus hardly paid attention; hearing the rules again weren't going to make his nerves go away faster.

There were hundreds of times per day that Albus wished his surname weren't Potter. P, what was that, sixteenth in the alphabet? But what other names were around him? _Watch there be two A's and then right to P_, thought Albus bitterly. Oh how he wished he were a Weasley.

Before Albus noticed that the professor had ceased talking, the doors before them opened and the sounds from the Great Hall flooded the room. It looked just as Albus had always imagined. Above was a seemingly endless night sky lined with thousands of candles. The floor, lined with four long tables, was alive with the chatter of black-clad wizards and witches. Spells flew around left and right as students stretched their magical abilities after the long summer. Albus had been around wizards all his life, from following his father to work at the Ministry to holidays at The Burrow. But somehow, the Hall with magic more breathtaking than he had ever seen.

The crowd of first years pushed forward and Albus found Rose's hand squeezing his own.

"It'll all be over soon. Just gotta get it over with, kinda like pulling teeth," Albus whispered, trying to keep his voice calm.

"Yeah, if don't have magic," Scorpius added.

Rose took a deep breath and set her gaze forward. "Well, here it goes."

And so they were in the Great Hall. A round of shouts broke out from every house as the first years were lead to the front of the Hall. Albus could feel everyone's eyes upon them, their stares analyzing which house house they belong in. Could they tell just by looking at him, Albus wondered? Would they see his father's face and know he belonged in Gryffindor? Or did they see something more sinister in his green eyes? Some sort of darkness that Albus always feared was in him?

He shook his head to clear it. Of course they didn't know what he would be. That was what the Sorting Hat was for, and it had been doing its job for Centuries.

Once all the first-years had lined up in the front of the room, the same man who had lead them in called "Ackerman, David!" and a gangly boy stepped forward. No sooner than the Hat touched his head did it call "Hufflepuff!" The boy stood up with a smile and received a pat on the back from the professor, who Albus no realized must be head of Hufflepuff house.

While most students were looking forward as the ceremony proceeded, Albus strained his head over his shoulder to scan the tables for some familiar faces. The first he found was his brother James, of course, who gave him a thumbs up, and next to him was Roxanne, who scowled. Further down the Gryffindor table were Dominique and Fred, who smiled reassuringly.

Albus also cast a nervous glance towards the Slytherin table. Every face was unfamiliar, one one he had ever seen at gatherings or talking to his father in public. Well, not quite everyone was unfamiliar. Tyler was hard to miss, grinning wide and visibly moving over to clear a seat. "Ready and waiting," he mouthed to Albus.

Once "Luscombe, Gloria" was sorted into Ravenclaw, Scorpius stiffened his shoulders. "Well, that'll be me, mate," he muttered.

And sure enough, "Malfoy, Scorpius," rang through the Hall. As the boy stepped forward, a few calls rang through the Hall. Albus wasn't looking back any longer, but he noticed that they were not solely coming from the Slytherin corner.

Scorpius closed his eyes as he sat down and let the Sorting Hat be placed on his head. The ruling was not as instantaneous as most had been, but it was only a few seconds later that the Hat called, "Slytherin!"

Scorpius' eyes were as wide as Albus had ever seen them. "Sorry mate," Albus mouthed, and even Rose had a look of sympathy. Scorpius smiled thinly back at them as he made his way to the Slytherin table and sat down in the seat next to Tyler. Meanwhile, "Nott, Evander" joined them in Slytherin and "Montgomery, Lyle" was sent to Ravenclaw.

"Potter, Albus."

He had been so caught up with Scorpius' sorting that he had forgot his own was approaching. Of course it was, how could he be so dumb. And yet his legs weren't quite registering with his brain to move forward.

"Al. That's you," hissed Rose.

"Potter, Albus?" the man called again as Albus' face turned red. As if Harry Potter's son wasn't spectacle enough, he now looked as dumb as he felt in front of the whole school.

Finally Albus willed himself forward and sat down on the stool. That Hat lowered on his head, warmer and lighter than he had expected.

The hat spoke in a deep, rumbly voice that only Albus could hear. "Ah, yes. Another Potter. The middle child, so I have heard."

_Yes, I'm the middle child. Tell me something I don't know_.

"No need to be like that, boy. I know everything that is in your head. But that is all I know, I assure you. So there will be no surprises among us."

_No surprises, huh? Then just get this over with and put me in Gryffindor like everyone expects._

"Gryffindor, eh? You know I put your father in that house? And most of your family...yes, of course you know that. Yes, I see, Gryffindor..."

_Yes, Gryffindor..._

"But that is not truly what you want now, is it? To be another face in the crowd? No no no, there is much more to you than that boy. I see greatness in you. And not just any kind. The kind that is...uncharted."

Albus couldn't even muster coherent thoughts as a reply. No, this couldn't be. It wasn't going to put him in Gryffindor.

"A Potter in Slytherin House. Now that would be interesting, don't you think? Do not be afraid, boy. If this is truly your fate, there is nothing to fear."

_But I don't _want _Slytherin._

"Ah, perhaps there are some secrets in that head of yours that you do not know. Because I see ambition. I see curiosity. I am not wrong?

_You're the Sorting Hat. You're not allowed to be wrong._

The hat chuckled—out loud, to Albus' horror. Then, he spoke once more to him alone. "I am allowed to be whatever I want boy. But then again, so are you. So, I leave the choice to you. Which shall it be?"

Albus took a deep breath. Every inch of him wanted to scream Gryffindor, and yet, his father's words about Severus Snape itched at the back of his mind.

_I choose-_

"Slytherin!"

* * *

**A/N: Okay, okay, I admit it, Albus is totally my favorite! It'll be a concerned effort to not give him all the cool chapters. Most NextGen fics I've read either have him be the perfect son of Harry Potter or a sidekick to a Rose/Scorpius romance. So don't worry, Albus will have his own spotlight in this fic. My take on him is a little more sarcastic and cynical than most-so much more fun ;)**


	4. Welcome New and Old

**Chapter Four: Welcome New and Old**

**Rose Weasley**

* * *

Rose Weasley was second to last, of course. One of the many curses of being a Weasley.

She had counted thirty-six students before her. A few names she had picked out—Edgecombe, McKinnon, Rosier, Montague, and Flint—as prominent wizarding families. The boy who still waited with her she took to be a Zabini, based on his dark skin and sour expression. Like the Flints and Montagues, the Zabini family had narrowly avoided arrest after the Great War, instead being assigned two years of civic duties. Which Rose of course had read about in _The Dark Years: The Rise and Fall of the Death Eaters_.

"Weasley, Rose!"

Rose knew that most students had grown bored of the sorting, but she still felt gazes turn to her with the word Weasley. Trying to look as tall as possible, she strode up to Professor Howland, head of Hufflepuff House, and sat with her legs crossed and an air of pride.

Rose had had thirty-six sortings to calm her nerves. She had come to accept that whatever would happen, would happen. And she had her wand, after all, so there was no way she was a Squib. Or at least it was very unlikely...right?

"Well well, another Weasley," muttered the hat once it was on her head. "Classic red hair. Brash attitude. But not bold. No, no, you think before you act. Perhaps too much? No, there is much more Granger in you. Better be—RAVENCLAW!"

Rose let out a heavy breath she hadn't known she was holding and stood up smiling. She could see each one of her cousins cheering; even Louis stood and smiled, proud to welcome his younger cousin into his house.

Too late, Rose realized that she had stood in front of the Hall too long. She managed an awkward curtsey—she wasn't sure to whom—before heading toward the Ravenclaw table.

Rose found an empty space at the far end of the table as "Zabini, Sebastian!" was placed in Slytherin and the Sorting Hat was cleared away. _Good riddance_, thought Rose. She was glad she would never have to see that dreadful hat again.

"Greetings, Hogwarts students, new and old!" called the familiar voice of Headmistress McGonagall. Rose smiled and gave her undivided attention. Of all the famous witches and wizards her parents had introduced her to, she held the highest respect for Minerva McGonagall. Not only was she brave and fiercely loyal, leading the defense against the attack on Hogwarts, but she was wise and shrewd, and one of the greatest teachers Hogwarts had ever known. There had been talk of her retiring. Even now, Rose noted that her hair was whiter, her wrinkles more pronounced that the last time she had seen the Headmistress at the holidays two years prior. But more than anything else at Hogwarts, Rose was grateful to be under the great witch's tutelage.

The last whispers among the hall fell silent as the Headmistress stood, as if in vigil, waiting for the hush to fall. Once it did, she smiled. "I am ever proud to welcome new students into our halls. Education and friendship are the two most powerful forms of magic imaginable, and more than anything, these are what we cultivate here at Hogwarts. I expect each and everyone one of you to accept these young witches and wizards with open minds and open hearts.

A few notes for newcomers, and _gentle_ reminders to the old." McGonagall actually paused for the sniggers from the Slytherin and Gryffindor tables. "The Forbidden Forest is out of bounds for all students. The it was it is called 'Forbidden.' Many of you seem to misunderstand the meaning of this word." Fred and Tyler air-high-fived across the Hall. But what seemed like a mundane gesture trailed in the form of two magical hands soaring through the hall, meeting with a loud _crack_ above McGonagall and a series of small multicolored fireworks.

McGonogall continued without missing a beat. "How lovely of you two gentlemen to remind us of the House point system. Each year, the four Houses compete for the House Cup. Points will be awarded for good behavoir and successes in class, while points will be detracted for...shenanigans. As such, Slytherin and Gryffindor will begin this year with negative five points each."

Roars of outcry rose from the two houses. Gryffindors complained of house loyalty and how dare McGonogall do this to her own house while Slytherins outright cursed the Headmistress.

"SILENCE!"

Everyone stopped in their tracks from the roar of a tall, dark-skinned professor. His beard, neatly braided, fell low to blend in with his robes, and his eyes were nearly as black as the garment.

"Thank you, Professor Raghavesh," said McGonagall simply. She let the still silence hang a moment longer before smiling. "Well, I do believe that is enough business for one night. Let the feast begin!"

* * *

Rose had finished her third plate before she was pulled into a conversation. She ate meat pies, biscuits, and mashed potatoes dripping with gravy nearly as rich as Grandma Weasley's. And so it was with a mouthful of pot-roast a gravy dribbling down her chin that she first heard her name.

"Rose Weasley, right?"

"Hum? Hwo afk?" Rose managed as he choked down the food.

She looked up to meet the eyes of a petite girl with round glasses and slightly windswept blonde hair. The girl giggled and, not unkindly, indicated the gravy on Rose's chin. Rose quickly grabbed her napkin and wiped her face, though she would rather hide behind the napkin entirely, since her face was as red as her hair.

"Sorry, I just-" Rose cleared her throat and decided to start over. "Yes, I am Rose Weasley. Daughter of Ronald and Hermione Weasley, friends of Harry Potter who-"

The girl interrupted with laughter. "I'm sorry, you're going to have to slow down. I'm muggleborn, you see. These names make about as much sense to me as all this Charms and Incantations mumbo jumbo." The girl smiled and offered her hand across the table. "Besides, I asked about _you_, Rose Weasley, because I did not know anything about you. I just caught your name during Sorting."

"Oh." Rose immediately felt bad. She was so used to people crowding her, demanding information about her family, that she didn't take kindness at face value anymore. But this girl seemed nice enough, with a gentle smile and bubbly demeanor. In fact, she was still staring with wide blue eyes and her hand offered across the table. "Yup, Rose Weasley. Er, Ravenclaw first-year."

The blonde shook her hand with surprising force. "Briony Burns. Me, too. So, what was this you were saying about your-"

"Famous family? Parents who defeated the greatest wizard of all time? Mother who heads Magical Law enforcement and singlehandedly pioneered the Elvish Liberation Act of 2002?" Another blonde girl sitting beside Briony cut in. She was much more polished, her long hair in a braid and her robes immaculate and quite clearly expensive. "Elizabeth Carmichael by the way. Liza. Saves you some time. But you must tell me what it is like to be the daughter of _the _Hermione Weasley née Granger."

This was exactly what Rose had been expecting at Hogwarts, and why she had no intention of making friends, in her house or otherwise. "It's quite normal," she responded tersely.

"It can't be normal," another girl insisted. "Your family has to be the least normal in the Wizarding World."

"Excuse me?" Rose whipped around to face the girl, who visibly paled.

"I'm sorry," she stammered. "I didn't mean that in a bad way. They're like, more than normal. Extra normal. Extraordinary! That's what I meant."

Rose blew a hair out of her face and returned to her food. "Yeah, well, it's hard to live up to 'extraordinary' every day of your life."

Despite what Rose thought were strong visual cues to leave her alone, Liza went on. "Yeah, there must be a great amount of pressure on you to live up to two-thirds of The Golden Trio. At least you were placed in Ravenclaw, a reputable house. But to think that the son of Harry Potter-"

Rose slammed down her pumpkin juice, causing several nearby students to jump from the clatter. "A reputable house? As opposed to what? Are you saying that my cousin chose to-"

"Well I'm certainly not saying that he deserves to-"

Rose and Liza were so heated that Briony practically had to yell in order to say, "Wait, are you telling me that you can choose your house?" The fighting girls stopped in their tracks and turned to Briony; Rose sent a silent thank you while Liza's looked softened into what seemed to read 'poor muggleborn.'

"Not really," Liza said, her former malice replaced with superiority. "But I read in _Hogwarts: A History_ that the Sorting Hat is more powerful than a Legimens at seeing into the mind. It can reveal secret desires that even we may not know about ourselves."

Rose bristled at the comment, though she did not bother to stir up the fight. Actually, Liza was right. _Hogwarts: A History_ (which Rose had read through four times) explained that the Sorting Hat tended to find the strongest desire within a person, no matter how innate it may be. Then why was Albus in Slytherin? Nothing she knew about Al fit Slytherin at all, and he and Rose had been close for their eleven years.

Since his sorting, Rose could not bring herself to look her cousin's way at all, though she knew he was probably looking for her. She didn't think her prejudice against Slytherin was strong enough to make her dislike her cousin. But rather, she questioned whether she really knew Albus at all. Was it her same lifelong friend sitting at the Slytherin table? Or had the Sorting Hat stirred up something within him. Something that would only fester in their time at Hogwarts?

"-So I highly recommend reading _Hogwarts: A History_," Liza was still saying to a visibly bored Briony. "You never know what facts may come in handy in your daily life at Hogwarts. And I always say, you can never be too prepared."

The feast fizzled out as Liza continued to talk, mostly to the fourth girl, Gloria. Rose and Briony finished their desserts in silence, but every so often Briony would smile or wink at something that the other girls had said, and Rose found herself laughing along. It was almost like dinner with her cousins, and she had known them her whole life.

Once the last of the food was whisked away, two sixth-years who introduced themselves as Regina Clearwater and Bryson Finch-Fletchley led the first-year Ravenclaws out of the Hall.

The two prefects lead them up the Grand Staircase. Before the older students could explain their enchantments, the staircase directly above them shifted, causing Briony and two of the boys to scream.

After climbing to the fifth floor, the group of students reached the bronze eagle-shaped knocker that Rose knew to be the guardian of the Ravenclaw Common Room. The eagle's head became animated, looked over the new students, and spoke in a deep voice. "The man who invented it doesn't want it. The man who bought it doesn't need it. The man who needs it doesn't know it. What is it?"

"In order to enter the common room, you must answer the riddle the eagle poses," explained Regina.

"What if you don't get it?" asked one of the boys who had jumped at the staircases.

Bryson opened his mouth, but Liza spoke first. "Then you have to wait. But it's quite obvious. Though rather grim for welcoming day, don't you think?"

Bryson smiled. "I suppose so. But at least we have such a promising new class." He turned to the knocker. "A coffin."

"Very well." And with that, the door swung open to reveal the lavish common room. Rose and several other students gasped. Rose knew, from her reading, that the room would be filled with plush furniture and bookcases, but she hadn't expected so many books. The walls themselves were inlaid with shelves holding every sort of volume, from ancient worn leather to new muggle paperbacks. Rose could just see herself curling up with a book or two on these couches every night.

"This is where we leave you," said Regina. "Girls are the first room up the staircase to your right. Boys, same to the left. Feel free to ask any student in the common room if you need help. Like McGonagall said, we're all here to help you."

As the prefects left, most of the first-years followed them up the stairs to their dormitories, but a handful including Rose stayed to inspect the common room. She knew that her luggage would be on her bed, so she was in no rush. The room was full of returning students catching up on their summers, but Rose found an empty cluster of chairs next to a window and sunk into one. There would be plenty of time to leaf through books later. Right now, she just wanted to close her eyes and feel at home.


	5. Double Double

**Chapter Five: Double Double**

**Scorpius Malfoy**

* * *

First-years were expected to get up bright and early Monday morning for the first day of classes. Unfortunately for Scorpius, waking up had never been his strong suit.

It was 8:50am by the time Scorpius yawned himself awake. Unlike his room at Malfoy Manor, which was always full of natural light, his room in the dungeons had windows only to the dark depth beneath the lake. Still, he could have sworn he set an alarm-

-which he noticed was missing from his nightstand.

_And it was ten minutes until class!_

"Bloody hell. Wake up, everyone!" Scorpius yelled has he tore off his nightclothes and pulled on the first trousers he pulled off the top of his trunk.

"What are you-aw hell!" came the voice of Albus from behind his bed curtains, and on Scorpius' other side, Evander was also rushing to pull on his clothes.

Of course, it was only the three of them in the room. From the moment he woke up without an alarm, he knew the other Slytherin boys had taken it. They would be at breakfast right now, or already at their first class.

First-years had received their class schedules only the night before at dinner, along with a map of Hogwarts and other basic school information. Scorpius' had read:

**Scorpius Malfoy  
Slytherin, First Year**

**MONDAY  
First Period: Potions, Raghavesh  
Second Period: Muggle Studies, Creevey  
Lunch Period  
Third Period: Defense Against the Dark Arts, Howland  
Fourth Period: Defense Against the Dark Arts, Howland**

Scorpius had been relieved that his first class was Potions, something he knew a bit about, but his heart sank when he remembered that it was taught by the Head of Slytherin House, Durjaya Raghavesh. Thus far, Scorpius hadn't gotten off on the right foot with any Slytherins.

The situation only got worse when, ten minutes later, maps in hand, the three boys arrived at the Potions Classroom. Or rather, eleven minutes later, Scorpius noticed when he glanced at the clock that read 9:01.

"So kind of you to join us," said Raghavesh from the front of the room. He stood calm and expressionless behind his desk. Somehow without moving anything but his arm, he checked his roster. "Mr. Malfoy. Mr. Potter. Mr. Nott."

The three boys looked to each other, unsure of whether they were meant to answer. In his two days at Hogwarts, Scorpius had yet to hear any intonation to the man's drone of a voice, so he wondered how they were meant to tell a statement from a question.

"Erm, yes?" Scorpius ventured for the three of them.

"Sit. Down."

All three rushed to sit in the three seats left empty, which were mercifully at the back of the room.

"Very well," the teacher spoke as soon as the boys sat down. "Now that you have all chosen to grace my seats with your presence."

A confused silence filled the room; Raghavesh's sentence had ended as suddenly as it had begun.

Albus leaned over and whispered to Scorpius, "Was that all he was going to say, or-?"

"Montague with Clearwater. Rosier with Brysn. Underwood with Song. Well, are you going to move or just sit there like Hippogriffs with your heads cut off."

The students whose names had been called jumped up as if their seats were suddenly set on fire. Scorpius cast a desperate glance to Albus. The only consolation of being sorted into Slytherin was knowing that he'd at least have him and Ev. But just then Raghavesh called "Potter and Torres." and Albus gathered his things.

"Sorry, mate," he muttered as he shuffled away.

Scorpius was one of the last to be paired, which thankfully meant that he got to keep his table in the back. Unfortunately, he was paired with a vapid-looking Gryffindor girl named Ross. At first, Scorpius just thought the world was out to get him, but then he realized that the entire room was paired off with one Slytherin and one Gryffindor.

All right, so the world wasn't out to get him. But Professor Raghavesh was.

"What an arse," Scorpius muttered under his breath.

"What was that?" asked the girl. Her eyes were such a bright blue, Scorpius swore he could see right through them to her empty skull.

Scorpius sighed and resigned himself to the situation. "I said, this is a farce."

"Ohh!" she said, oblivious to what the word farce even meant. Then she laughed as if it were the funniest thing she had heard all day.

Raghavesh slammed open the giant tome on his desk. "Today," he said as he began writing on the board. After the unnaturally long pause had passed, he continued, "we will be brewing Pepperup Potion. The ingredients are on the board."

The students looked around. Their professor had not given them a page number or even instructions on where to find the ingredients.

Scorpius sighed and flipped to the index of the book, which no one else in the class seemed to think to do. Beside him, Ross's eyes lit up.

"Ohh. I hadn't thought of that," she giggled. Astonishment and laughter seemed to be her only two emotions.

Scorpius leafed through the three pages dedicated to Pepperup Potion. The potion, a common cure to the cold, was somewhat familiar to him. His mother brewed potions for St. Mungos. These days, she worked at the hospital itself, but when he was young, she would brew in one of the Malfoy Manor's many rooms with her son on her lap. The smell of herbs and roots was as familiar to him as the feel of his wand had become.

Many of the ingredients were thing he knew muggles used: dandelion and ginger root, fluxweed, and honey water. The only magical ingredient was bicorn horn. Unsure of what that did, Scorpius flipped back to the index, found "bicorn," and read that its powder was a common ingredient to bring out the innate magical properties of non-magic plants.

After scribbling the ingredients list on his hands, he made his way to the cabinets at the back of the room. He was not the first student there-a couple Slytherin girls and a Gryffindor boy were already riffling through the stores-but he was the first to open the right cabinet. All of the ingredients he needed would be in packets to keep the air out. Everyone else was looking through the drawers of loose ingredients.

"Oh, Malfoy found them!" one of the girls said once Malfoy gathered everything but the bicorn horn. Scorpius passed out the ingredients to the grateful girls, who complained about the lack of pictures in the textbook. He was about to put everything away once he had enough for three brews. Then, thinking twice, he grabbed a fourth helping for his desk mate.

"Thanks, mate," Albus muttered through his textbook when Scorpius dropped the ingredients on his desk, and Evander nodded a silent thank you.

"Ohh, thank you!" Ross giggled when he sat back down and passed her the ingredients. "I didn't even know where to start."

"Figured," Scorpius mumbled.

Ross had done one useful thing, which was set up both of their cauldrons. Okay, maybe she wasn't so bad. Scorpius measured the appropriate amount of water to boil, lit both flames to thank Ross without having to say it, and dropped his wand into the water. It was an old trick his mother had taught him, to keep the water from boiling over.

Pepperup Potion was a easy exercise to start with. Still, Scorpius read through the textbook chapter three times before beginning to crush his bicorn horn, "to allow the powder to aromatize before boiling," Arsenius Jigger had written.

As Scorpius held his roots above the flame to char, he felt a tickle on his arm and looked down to see a beetle. He reached to flick it off before noticing that it was not a beetle at all, but paper enchanted to look like one.

He glanced to the front of the room. Professor Raghavesh was staring straight forward at the class, but his dark eyes didn't appear to be on Scorpius specifically. Anyway, it wasn't unusual to have a scrap paper for brewing notes.

Scorpius quietly unfolded the paper to find tiny, messy scrawl.

_A gift from Fred. Pretty cool, huh?_

He ventured a glance ahead to Albus, who turned around and winked. When he looked back down, the writing had disappeared.

Scorpius grinned to himself. Once he had charred his roots, scrapped the skin into the boiling pot, and turned it three times clockwise, he knew he had three minutes before needing to drop in the rest of the root.

_Brilliant. How goes your potion?_

he wrote back. He crunched the paper into a little ball and it formed itself back to a beetle that crawled away.

Five minutes later, with his roots at a steady boil, the beetle-paper came back.

_Awful. Is it supposed to be grey?_

Scorpius snickered, realizing a little too late that others would hear.

"What's so funny?" Ross asked.

"Nothing, Jigger is hilarious," he muttered.

"Ohh. You're right," and giggles.

Once she turned back to her own steaming cauldron, he scrawled,

_I think so. It's boiled charry muck. Grey sounds about right?_

While Scorpius was writing, a loud pop came from his cauldron. He jumped up, panicked that something had gone wrong, but once he poked around with his wand he noticed that the ginger root had simply split. No big deal, he hoped.

The beetle-paper was back a moment later.

_Nice._

Scorpius grinned as an idea suddenly popped into his head.

_That's nothing. Watch this_.

Ross's potion was already beginning to smell like muggle petrol, which Scorpius knew was completely wrong. It was meant to smell like honey and ginger. He figured that her potion was ready to go down the toilet anyway, so no real harm done...

He took the knife out of his kit and chopped up fluxweed plant. This was his next ingredient anyway, but the potion only called for the stem. After making his own pile, he made sure to cut up some extra with leaves as well.

"Here, Ross, I must have grabbed too much." He pushed the pile her way with a signature Scorpius smile.

She smiled back. "Thanks, Scorpius!"

Albus had been turned around as long as he dared, waiting to see what Scorpius' note had meant. Scorpius mouthed without taking his eyes off his cauldron, "Three...two...one..."

_BOOM!_

The whole room turned to Scorpius' desk. Ross' potion had exploded everywhere (except, curiously, Scorpius' cauldron). The brown slush was all over herself and Scorpius' robes. A necessary sacrifice, the boy had concluded.

Raghavesh was on his feet an instant later. With a wave of his wand, the slush was gone and her cauldron was empty.

"Lesson one, read your instructions. Stems and leaves. Vastly different properties. Ross, to the front with me."

Ross slowly stood up with sheer terror on her face. She packed up her books and shuffled her way to the front of the room.

_Wow. Nice mate._

Albus' next note read.

Scorpius did feel bad; he hadn't wanted her to get a zero for the day. He was so worried that he kept his eyes on Raghavesh and Ross instead of his own potion. The two were speaking in voices too low for Scorpius to hear.

Relief came mercifully soon as Ross giggled and gathered her books. "What happened?" Scorpius asled nervously as she sat back down.

"He just walked me through the potion. He told me not to say this, but he isn't grading us today anyway." She giggled as she looked in his cauldron. "Doesn't look like you have to worry anyway.

Now that his conscience was clear and his attention turned back to the task at hand, Scorpius was the first to finish with ten minutes to spare. Most other Slytherins followed, including Albus. His deskmate was the only Gryffindor to finish by the time the clock hit 10:25.

The instant the second hand hit, Raghavesh stood. "Very well. Full marks to everyone today. But don't think I didn't take note of who finished. Five minutes to clean your cauldrons." He flicked his wand to clear the chalkboard and sat back down, staring blankly forward as always.

Ross giggled as she packed her cauldron. "That was a lot more drama than I was expecting in my first class."

Scorpius found himself laughing with her. "Yeah. This year's gonna be great."

* * *

**A/N: A couple of troublemakers in the making, aren't they? ;)**

**What do you think of Raghavesh so far? I had a lot more fun with Ross then I meant to, heh.**


	6. Toil and Trouble

**Chapter Six: Toil and Trouble**

**Albus Potter**

* * *

It was well past midnight by the time the Slytherin Common Room cleared out. Albus sighed gratefully and sunk further into the plush chair. The fire was blazing nearby, fighting an endless battle against the constant chill of the room, and papers littered the floor and table in the boys' corner.

Scorpius and Evander sat on the couch to his right. The three had become inseparable in their three days at Hogwarts-except, of course, in Potions class. Albus never considered himself a social person, so he was still shocked that the two Slytherin boys had become friends with him so quickly. At least he thought Evander was his friend; he had yet to say otherwise.

The rest of the day had not been as dreadful as Potions class. Though, looking at their mountain of homework, he was beginning to change his mind.

Albus had most looked forward to Muggle Studies of every class. It was taught by Dennis Creevey, a longtime friend of his father. Often he would come to the Potter's for dinner to discuss muggle politics with Al's parents, or join them for holidays at The Burrow and argue with Granddad about muggle technology.

("Your father knows everyone and his brother," Scorpius quipped on their way to class. Rose couldn't resist jumping in, "Actually, Uncle Harry does know his brother. Colin Creevey was-")

Professor Creevey did not disappoint. His classroom, an otherwise droll stone room, was plastered with muggle photographs of everything from people to buildings to cars and objects. Professor Creevey sat on his desk, not behind it, with a wide smile. He launched into a lecture as soon as the last two Ravenclaw boys sat down-

-and that was when Albus began to regret the class.

Professor Creevey seemed to cram a year's worth of information into their ninety minute class. He began with a not-so-brief overview of muggle history, hitting on scientific discoveries, wars, and social trends. By the time he reached the twentieth century, Al's eyes were glazed over. He had grown up in a muggle neighborhood and considered himself knowledgeable about their world, but he thought this was just ridiculous. There was no way such boring people could have so much history to talk about.

By the time they hit the twenty-first century, Rose and Scorpius were taking turns poking Al awake in between their notes.

After lunch, they were back with Gryffindor for a double period of Defense Against the Dark Arts, taught by the Deputy Headmaster Professor Howland. After Creevey, his upbeat attitude was a lot to handle, but Al figured it at least balanced out a morning of Raghavesh.

Howland began class with a lengthy discussion about gnomes. "Oi, I can watch my elves garden if I wanna learn about them!" Dane Montague called, and even a few Gryffindors laughed, but everyone's attitudes changed when Professor Howland opened the cage and released a mob of them into the room. Everyone screamed and jumped on their desks for safety.

"Does anyone have any idea how to defend themselves?" Howland yelled above the screams. "Any spell that might keep them at bay?"

"A Knockback Jinx?" a boy ventured.

"Very good, Donnelly, very good. A point to Gryffindor. Why don't you try it?"

"I never have, sir."

Howland smiled and stood on his desk for a clearer view of the class. "Now this students is what I like to call a teaching moment. And a rather active one, don't you think?" He paused to laugh at his own joke. "Now, aim your wand directly at your target, make sure to keep your aim true, and say very clearly, 'flipendo.'" Speak very clearly. Emphasis on the second syllable. Ready to repeat after me. Fli-pen-do."

"Fli-pen-do," the class chanted back.

"Very good. Donnelly, care to try? Remember, aim and speak clearly."

"Flipendo," the Donnelly shouted and pointed his wand at the nearest gnome. It only flew a couple feet, but it gave up trying to climb Donnelly's desk and wandered away muttering.

With Donnelly's success, the rest of the class began shooting Knockback Jinxes as Howland continued calling. "Good," "Brilliant aim," and "Hey! Mind you don't hit each other!"

Once the gnomes had been herded, Professor Howland treated any students who had been bitten and gave everyone a break to calm down from the excitement. When they reconvened, he spent the rest of the class talking about his perfect "teaching moment." Gnomes were Level XX dark creatures, which meant they were practically harmless and easily deterred with basic spells, but they were in fact dark creatures and there was a good reason why.

All this seemed much less exciting back in the Common Room as Albus worked on his foot-long essay about the difference between pixies and imps. His textbook told him that they had different classifications, but he couldn't figure out why. They both seemed like pests to him.

Albus groaned and closed _Magical Creatures and Where to Find Them_, instead picking up his notes for Muggle Studies.

"Hey Scorp, wanna work on Muggle Studies together?" he asked.

"Already done. Just gotta write a few more inches for Howland."

"Wait, how did you finish already? You didn't even have your book out!"

Scorpius shrugged. "Not hard. Five things that Muggles have that do the same thing as wizard stuff. I have cars and brooms, phones and howlers, films and wizard photos, medicines and potions, and muggle post and owls. You seriously need a book for that?"

Albus sighed and wrote down everything Scorpius had said. "Nah, I guess not, I've got you."

"Gee thanks, mate," Scorpius shot back.

"What about this book though?" Albus picked up the text Creevey had handed out at the end of class: _Hatchet_ by Gary Paulsen.

"Right, you were asleep when Creevey said it. We don't have to start reading until next week. Don't even bother, though. Whole point is how little Muggles can do without magic. Kid gets stuck in the woods and almost dies. But he doesn't. The end."

Albus looked at him with confusion. "Wait, how do you know all that?"

"Read it a couple years ago," Scorpius replied casually.

"Why were you reading a muggle book?"

"Anything to annoy my dad."

Albus shrugged and figured he'd do the same thing with Draco Malfoy as a father. "Well anyway, sounds like you're giving Rose some competition in the nerd department."

Suddenly, a voice appeared from an empty chair beside them. "I'll say you're a bunch of nerds. You don't even have these classes until Thursday."

Scorpius was immediately on his feet with his wand. "Who the bloody hell just said that?"

"Hey, take it easy on the language, kiddo." A moment later, Tyler appeared on the chair.

Scorpius sighed and sat back in the chair. Albus wasn't so quick to back down. "Bloody hell. How long have you been there."

Tyler laughed and made himself at home by putting his feet up on the coffee table and their homework. "An hour I'd say. I told you, I make it my business to know everyone's business. And bloody hell again? You first years need to expand your profanities."

"We're not here for a vocabulary lesson," Albus went on, still upset. "You scared the-the shit out of us!"

Tyler quirked an eyebrow. "Shit? Good one. I'll have to add that to my books."

"Seriously, why were you just watching us?" Scorpius asked.

"I'm here every night, kiddos. You're invading on my turf." Tyler stood up flicked his wand, sending the homework into an inglorious pile on the floor. "Now, are you going to sit here with your noses in these books or are you coming with me for a bit of fun."

Albus felt a surge of excitement at the prospect of mischief. He was finally out of his parents' house an on his own, and all he'd done so far was watch Scorpius blow up a cauldron. But Scorpius looked less certain, and Evander's brow was furrowed.

"Is it really a good idea to get in trouble our first week here?" the blond asked nervously.

"Scorpius, Evander," Tyler sat on the couch between the boys and put an arm around them both. "I have yet to get caught in my four years at Hogwarts. And you'd better bet that I didn't sit around wasting my first week. Just stick to your mate Tyler and everything will be a-okay."

"I'm not going," Evander said flatly and wormed his way out of Tyler's arm. "Scorpius?"

Evander was staring down Scorpius with a hard expression, so Albus stared him down harder. He was going to go whether or not the other boys did, but Scorpius was his best mate, and whatever Tyler had planned would be more fun with him along.

"Sco-orp," he begged. "Weren't you the one who blew up that girl's cauldron?"

"Yeah, but that was just a small-"

"And weren't you just telling me that you'll do anything to annoy your dad?"

"Yeah, but Al, he'll literally _kill me_ if I get detention!"

Tyler shook Scorpius and grinned. "But I told you. We're not. Going. To. Get. Detention."

Scorpius looked to Evander one more time. Albus thought he was a lost cause, but finally he said, "Fine, I'm in."

Albus and Tyler jumped up and high fived.

"Well I'm not," Evander said. "Good luck." He gathered his own things as well as the other boys'. Al suddenly felt bad. Evander wasn't being spiteful, he just didn't want to risk his neck breaking rules, and now he had to go face their dorm of evil psycho Slytherins by himself.

"So, how exactly did you turn invisible?" Scorpius asked once Evander was out of sight.

"Ah, that's a secret passed down for thousands of generations." Tyler smiled and let the secret hang in the air; Albus and Scorpius were on the edge of their seats. "By which I mean a ratty old invisibility cloak."

Now everything made sense. His father had told his kids countless stories of the mischief he got into with the invisibility cloak. But something wasn't right. "Wait, why do you have my dad's invisibility cloak?"

Tyler looked genuinely shocked for a moment, but he quickly resumed his usual slick expression. "I don't know what Harry Potter has up his sleeve, but this is just a travelling cloak with a disillusionment charm. And a good one at that."

"So how did a fourth year go about that?" Scorpius asked. "Not to insult your abilities. But that's NEWT level magic."

"A good businessman never reveals his sources," Tyler said, "but let's just say, George Weasley couldn't pass up the chance for his protégés to continue wreaking havoc in Hogwarts."

Albus laughed. That did sound like Uncle George, all right.

"All right kiddos. Are we going to sit here debating the finer points of magical concealment, or are we going to wreak some of that havoc?"

* * *

**A/N: I think this chapter is best left off here. I'll give you a hint, though: we find out what happens from Rose's POV ;)**


	7. Confettipalooza

**Chapter Seven: Confettipalooza**

**Rose Weasley**

* * *

Rose woke with a start in the middle of the night.

Her first thought was that she'd heard a gunshot. But she was in the wizarding world, she told herself, and at Hogwarts no less. The wizarding world had been at peace her whole life and no one had a reason to attack Hogwarts.

All things considered, it couldn't be anything worth getting out of bed.

"Oh my Merlin! Everyone come see this!"

Rose couldn't tell which of her roommates had said it, but she was at the window all the way on the other side of the room. Not worth it. Rose rolled over and put her pillow over her head.

"Ro-o-o-se!"

"No, but seriously Rose." This time it was Briony. "You have to see this."

Rose grumbled, wishing she was a powerful enough witch to cast a Muffliato strong enough for the rest of the world. Finally, she rolled out of bed.

When she got to the window, her jaw dropped. "No. They. Didn't."

* * *

"I am utterly ashamed, and each whoever is responsible for this should be, too. You turned Ravenclaw Tower into a-a-"

Professor Fontaine cleared her throat. "I believe the word you are looking for is confetti cannon, Minerva."

"A confetti cannon!" Headmistress McGonagall's voice was shrill as she paced around the Ravenclaw Common Room. At two in the morning, the prefects had been sent to knock on every Ravenclaw dormitory and summon them for an emergency house meeting. They had come downstairs to find the usual Common Room furniture cleared, replaced by rows of chairs, with McGonagall, Howland, and their head of house, Fontaine, standing in a row before the fireplace.

Rose sat towards the back of the room between Briony and Gloria. Her classmates were whispering about how someone had gotten onto the roof of Ravenclaw Tower and what kind of magic they had used to shoot silver and blue confetti out of the spire. Rose wasn't concerned about how, but she had a pretty good idea about the who. She craned her neck to find a particular head of strawberry-blond hair as McGonagall went on.

"I presume this is some ill-conceived and misdirected sense of house pride?" A few students laughed, but none too loudly for fear of looking like the culprit. The Headmistress straightened her thin spectacles. "I know Ravenclaw House won the House Cup last term for the first time in six years, but behavior like this is absolutely shameful. For your atrocious sportsmanship and for acting like children, Ravenclaw will lose 100 points."

Now, nobody was afraid to be loud; there was a full uproar across the room.

"And," McGonagall went on, "We will be questioning students individually tomorrow morning, beginning with the Quidditch team."

A broad-shouldered boy stood up and looked the Headmistress straight in the eye. "With all due respect, Professor, my team is not a group of delinquents. We're proud of our house, but-"

"Sit down, Mr. Jernigan." Rose thought he was going argue, but instead he clenched his jaw. He didn't speak again, but neither did he sit down. "I am not suggesting that you and your teammates have a particular excess of deviant energy because you have not been able to fly around all summer. However, this little stunt required a broom, and I am aware that each of you have them, and that this early in the year, they are likely to be in your dormitories rather than your lockers."

Jernigan nodded slowly and sat back down.

"Headmistress, if I may," Professor Howland ventured, "it is very late. Since we have our course of action, shall we not send the rest of the students to bed? They have been quite disturbed already tonight."

McGonagall pursed her lips and nodded. "Very well. I will be seeing many of you in the morning. And bring your brooms."

* * *

Rose was meant to have double charms the next morning, but Professor Fontaine was preoccupied with interrogating students, so the class had been cancelled. That was the only thing Rose considered good about this whole incident. She hadn't had any Monday classes involving practical magic, and now she got to put it off until Transfiguration after lunch.

For now, she got to spend the morning in the sanctuary of the library. She had always prided herself in her ability to shut out everything else while reading, even a house full of Weasleys, but right now she found herself skimming over the words.

All she could think about was finding Louis.

Last night's prank had Weasley Wizard Wheezes written all over it. Fred or Tyler would have been her first suspects, but Louis was the only Weasley in Ravenclaw.

Even without morning classes, Rose had woken up early-a true rarity for her-and rushed down to breakfast, but Louis hadn't been there. She spent the rest of the meal seething and figuring out why she was seething. By the time she made it to the library, she had figured it out: Rose Weasley loved solving puzzles and hated rule breaking. She was determined to be the one to solve this puzzle, and boy, was her cousin in for it.

Rose was so caught up in her thoughts that she yelped with surprise when there was a light tap on her shoulder. She turned around to see Professor Fontaine in her usual flurry of extravagant robes.

"Oh, my dear, I am so very sorry!" she said in a soft voice that immediately brought Rose's heart rate down. For years, she had been hearing her male cousins gossip about their hot Charms professor, and now Rose could see why. The woman wasn't bad looking, Rose supposed. She generally didn't succumb to the ridiculous habit of rating humans based on the symmetry of their faces, which she had read was the determining factor of so-called beauty. But not only was Professor Fontaine young and her face symmetrical, but there was a certain air about her, a calming aura and the constant hint of flowers. Aunt Fleur had laughed and said she must be part veela when Teddy first brought her up at dinner.

Speaking of part-veelas, this was Rose's chance to tell everyone about Louis.

"Your presence has been requested in the Headmistress' office. If you would follow me, Miss Weasley." Professor Fontaine gathered her skirts and led the way out of the library.

In spite of Rose's eagerness to name her cousin the prankster, Rose's mind wandered as she was led to the gargoyle guarding the office. She knew the way, of course, from looking at maps of Hogwarts, but this was the first time she had ever been to this part of the castle in person. Every square inch of the castle was endlessly fascinating to her.

"Butterscotch toffee," Professor Fontaine said to the gargoyle once they had arrived, and Rose squeaked gleefully when it turned to reveal the spiral staircase to the Headmistress' office.

"Professor McGonagall still uses sweets as passwords like Professor Dumbledore did?" Rose asked. That was one of Uncle Harry's favorite stories about Albus' namesake.

"I haven't the faintest idea what you mean, dear," replied Fontaine airily.

Rose's excitement came crashing down when they stepped into the office. The Headmistress was behind her desk with Howland at her side, both looking exhausted and frustrated. The worst part was that, not only was Louis already seated, but so was her Uncle George.

"Miss Weasley, if you would please have a seat." McGonagall waved her wand and another chair slid beside Louis.

Looking from one adult to the next, Rose was suddenly nervous. Not only had her thunder been stolen, but also she now realized how strange it was that they had called her of all people for questioning.

Uncle George was the only one smiling. "Hey there Rosie. You're not in trouble, cross my heart. They just have to ask you some questions to be thorough."

"That is correct, Rose," said McGonagall. "The device was undoubtedly one sold at your uncle's store. Of course, any student could have purchased the item, but as you two are Mr. Weasley's only kin in Ravenclaw, you must understand that we need to check."

Just a procedural check? Now Rose was upset. Without even sitting down, Rose yelled, "You don't even think it's him? Professor, it has to be Louis!"

Howland's eyes widened in shock, McGonagall's brow furrowed, and George laughed out loud. "Gee Rosie, that's some family loyalty you've got. Glad I didn't go to school with you!"

"It was him!" Rose insisted.

"Did you see him do it, Miss Weasley? Or do you have any proof?" McGonagall asked.

"No, but..." Rose trailed off sheepishly. She didn't have any evidence, of course, but she just knew she was right.

"Your cousin is an exemplary student, Miss Weasley," Howland said gently. "Your cousin Fred? Now him I'd have in here first thing if he weren't a Gryffindor. But I don't believe for a second that Louis did this."

"He can't even fly, Rose," George laughed.

"What kind of wizard can't fly?" Rose snapped. Of course, her mother wouldn't touch a broom, and Rose had refused every ride her father had offered. But she couldn't think of anything else to say that would incriminate Louis.

The accused himself finally spoke. "My father is correct. Flying is filthy and undignified, as is this entire ordeal. Can you picture me flying up in the middle of the night and fumbling around on the roof, all to litter the Hogwarts grounds in little bits of paper? Honestly, Rose, you call yourself my cousin."

George cracked up laughing. "You have to hand it to the man, Rosie. That's one hell of a defense."

"Mr. Weasley, this is not a joking matter!" Everyone was surprised when the Headmistress snapped at George, but Rose didn't think she looked upset, just tired. She probably hadn't slept since the incident, between cleaning it up and interrogating students.

George must have realized the same thing as he replied with complete seriousness. "Of course not, Professor. I swear, I did not give a Confettipalooza-" Howland laughed at the name and quickly covered it up as a cough. "As I was saying, I did not give a Confettipalooza to either of my children, nor to any of my nieces or nephews. It could be anyone who's ever walked into one of my shops."

McGonagall sighed and nodded. "As I figured. Thank you very much, George."

"Of course, Professor. But, well, just some friendly advice? I'd talk to Fred, too. I wouldn't put it past my son to pull a prank that screams Ravenclaw just to throw the trail off himself."

The Headmistress finally smiled. "Of course not he would, George. He is your son after all."

"Couldn't let you off easy, now could I Professor? I really do need to get back to work soon. May I ask you to see Fred next so I can get going?"

"Of course, George. Clytemnestra?"

Professor Fontaine nodded from beside the door. "I will find Mr. Weasley. Well, Mr. Fred Weasley. There sure are a lot of Mr. Weasleys here, aren't there?" She swept up her robes and hurried out the door.

So Fred then, Rose thought. She desperately wanted to stay and watch him confess, but the Headmistress dismissed her and Louis. With a quick hug to her uncle and a muttered apology to her cousin, Rose left the office and headed to the Great Hall. Lunch had already begun, which meant it was time to stop worrying about the prank and start dreading Transfiguration.


	8. Hard to Score

**Chapter Eight: Hard to Score**

**Scorpius Malfoy**

* * *

Wednesday afternoon was a free-period for first years. With the recent increase in core subjects for students, Professors McGonogall and Longbottom also developed an equal increase in study time for their students, in order to catch up on homework or find remedial help in difficult classes.

Or so they were all told at the library orientation. Scorpius didn't think it was much of a free period if the first half was a forced study hall. He probably would have spent most of his free time in the library, anyway, but actually forcing them to do so made him want to be anywhere else.

After listening to the librarian, a stout older man named Jonas Jenkins, ramble on for half an hour about study periods and use of the library, the students were divided into smaller groups by house and paired with an unfortunate fifth year student. "By tutoring young minds, fifth years will see an increase in their own understanding of subjects for their upcoming O.W.L. Exams," Jenkins had said. _Well hasn't McGonagall just thought of everything_, thought Scorpius.

Scorpius, Al, and Evander chose a table with a pudgy boy who looked as unenthused as they all felt. "Rhett Gogol," was all he said.

"Pleasure," replied Scorpius, and that was that.

Their little group had a happy consensus of apathy with the four of them, but Jenkin tacked on two girls, Sylvia and Eliana, due to a lack of tutors.

"So. Erm." Rhett pulled out a crumpled parchment and squinted. "First year is a time of self exploration for young minds. Introduce your mentees to the many resources Hogwarts has to offer. Yeah, this is a load of bullocks." Sylvia and Eliana shared a look and laughed Rhett crumpled up the paper again. "Look, I'm s'posed ta ask you how your classes are going. So, what was chill? What sucks?"

"It's all chill," Albus muttered indifferently.

"Yeah, I mean, we haven't had trouble with anything yet," Scorpius added. "At least _we_ haven't-the three of us. I don't mean to speak for you girls." Scorpius could have kicked himself as soon as he spoke. He hadn't meant to sound so pretentious. Great, now the only two non-pure bloods in his year would hate him, too.

Sylvia shrugged, not looking offended at all. "Thanks, Scorpius. But yeah, pretty easy so far. Potions was easy enough. Charms and Transfiguration aren't really something you look up in a library. Herbology, you pick up the thing, don't let it bite you, and repot it. Got it. History of Magic is boring as heck. You couldn't pay me to read more about it. Defense is cool. Again, not much point in reading, Howland covers plenty in class. I guess Muggle Studies is the hardest."

"Yeah, Professor Creevey is crazy. I went to Muggle school and I can't even keep up with what he's saying," Eliana added.

"Yeah, he's batty. Anything to add, boys?" Rhett asked.

Scorpius had agreed with the girls about everything, except that he had loved Muggle Studies. Professor Creevey did not treat his students like idiots, nor did he talk about muggles like they were some foreign species to be studied. He figured there was no real point in arguing, though. "Yeah, sounds about right."

"All right then." Rhett un-crumpled his parchment for probably the tenth time in its short life. "Muggle Studies books are...past the windows, through those arches, and to your right. Rows are sorted by subject but don't bother asking me what they are. Haven't set foot in this library since first year myself. So, pick a book on something Creevey said. And, uh, write a page of notes, would ya? Make Jenkins think I did something."

That seemed to be Rhett's maximum word count for the day, because he slunk back into the chair and stared blankly ahead. Scorpius wondered briefly how he could just sit there and do literally nothing, but quickly wrote it off as not-his-problem.

The five students found their way to the Muggle Studies section-no thanks to Rhett's instructions, which were atrocious-and each found a book. Scorpius picked up a thick text on German warfare in World War II, a war which Creevey had briefly touched on. Scorpius had read plenty on the history, but this one promised more insight into the German strategy. Albus, blatantly cheating on this exercise, had found a copy of _Hatchet_ to start on next week's reading. Ev picked up a biology book while both of the girls picked up some fiction, excitedly whispering about how Hogwarts had the new sequels of whatever it was.

By the time Scorpius had read his way through the principals of the Nazi Party, Rhett snapped out of his apparent daze and stood up. "It's two-thirty. Later, losers." Scorpius glanced at the clock and it was two-thirty on the dot; their mandatory study hall was over and they now had their second free period that was actually free.

"What are you boys up to?" Syliva asked as she packed up her things. "I was going to show Eliana the kitchens since she's never met a House Elf."

Scorpius was actually touched by her invitation, but he was also totally engrossed in his book. "Thanks, but no thanks," he said, hoping he wasn't offending her. "Gonna keep reading."

"Same," Albus muttered without looking up from his book. Evander nodded

"All right. See you boys later."

No sooner than Sylvia and Eliana had left did Rose appear out of nowhere and sit down. "Okay, talk."

Albus took a deep breath and closed his book. Scorpius sighed and did the same. It didn't look like he was going to get much reading done.

"Hello to you, too, Rose," Al said dryly.

Rose was in no mood for his sarcasm. "I said talk."

"Okay, well, let's see. Hi, I'm Albus Potter. Son of Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived, Defeater of the Dark Lord, etcetera etcetera. I'm sitting in the Hogwarts Library and I was trying to read until you-"

Rose's face grew angrier by the second. "What?" she finally snapped, cutting Albus off.

"Well you said talk, and I didn't know what about, so I just-"

"You know what I meant, Albus Severus!" Rose was practically shouting, which drew the attention of the few students left in the library. Scorpius didn't know how things worked in their family, but she used Albus' middle name; it had to be serious.

"Whoa whoa, calm down," he whispered to both Rose and Albus. "There's no need to start a fight in public. Rosie, you can beat up Al all you want later, but for now, try to use your words."

Rose only looked like she was going to punch Scorpius first instead of Al, but she seemed to take his point about making a scene in the library. She narrowed her eyes and said flatly, "The confetti. Ravenclaw Tower. Talk."

Scorpius felt the blood drain from his face. How on earth had she known it was them? No, she couldn't, he reasoned, swallowing and trying to keep his face level. "That was in Ravenclaw. Why are you asking us."

"Don't play dumb, Malfoy. And I'm not talking to you. Albus, why did you do it?"

"We didn't do anything," Albus said, surprisingly calm.

"Look," Rose was calmer and seemed to be settling into business mode. "I got questioned by the professors. All of us Ravenclaws did, thank you very much. Louis was questioned with me and it wasn't him. Then Fred was brought in and said he had no idea about it. So that leaves only one person."

"For a first year, you sure know a lot about Hogwarts students," Albus said levelly.

"_Tyler_," hissed Rose. "I know it was Tyler Jordan."

Now Scorpius was panicking. She did know, and the way she was talking, it sounded like she wouldn't hesitate to turn them in.

"Rose, don't say it out loud-" Scorpius started at the same Albus said, "Why would we know that?"

Everyone at the table stared at each other for a moment, dumbfounded.

"Wow, thanks mate," said Al.

"I knew it!" said Rose.

"Wait, so that's what you were doing the other night?" said Evander.

Scorpius ran his hand through his hair and wished he was eating treacle tarts with Sylvia and Eliana.

"_Thanks mate_," Al hissed to Evander.

"Hey, lay off!" Scorpius wanted to stay out of this fight, but Albus getting mad at Evander was going too far. Ev's guts had been right about following Tyler out of the dungeons.

"Wait, I was right! I mean, of course I was right. So back up. How did he do it? Why did he do it. What did you do?" Rose was now asking questions almost too fast to understand.

"I don't know," Albus sighed. "I mean, I don't know why. He said he was going to show us something cool and we snuck up to Ravenclaw Tower. He had stashed the Confettipalooza in the Common Room earlier that day. Then he just hopped on a broomstick and just like, put it up there. That's it."

Rose wrinkled her nose as she tried to understand Albus' story, which was mostly accurate aside from glazing over some details, like the invisibility cloak and how Tyler had stolen the broom out of someone's dormitory.

"How did he get into the Common Room?" she finally asked.

"C'mon Rose. Your password is just a question, anyone can solve it," Albus said.

"Yeah, smart people. _I am not easy to score, but when you do I am an endless reward_, " Rose recited.

"Knowledge?" Evander guessed.

"Yes," Rose said resignedly. "But Tyler got that?"

"Well, not exactly," Albus said. "Tyler said 'a good shag' and it still opened."

"That's just rude!" Rose exclaimed.

"That's what the eagle said," Albus laughed.

Rose still didn't look satisfied. "Okay, well I have way less respect for that eagle now. But besides that, there's something I still don't get. How did he get a broom? Tyler doesn't play Quidditch."

"Stole it from a dormitory," Al answered.

"Al!" Scorpius hadn't meant to yell, but he couldn't believe Albus was giving away all their secrets. How could he trust Rose when she was nothing but a nosey tattletale? Did he want to get expelled?

Albus completely brushed off Scorpius, though. "Look, Rose. We didn't know what he was doing. We don't know why he was doing it. Kinda brilliant, though, pranking another house like that. Just sit back and enjoy his genius. It's not like anyone got hurt."

"I don't care Al! Whose broom was it?" Rose demanded.

"Why does that matter?" Albus asked.

Rose looked around to make sure no one else was listening. "Because they're identifying the culprit by the broom."

Now Albus looked as panicked as Scorpius was. At least his friend had a conscience, Scorpius thought. It was all fine as long as no one got hurt, but if the Headmistress went through Ravenclaw house broom-by-broom, someone besides Tyler was going to get blamed.

"How-how do they do that?" Albus stuttered.

"It's something like _prior incantato_, but it can tell you the last time a broom was used. So whoever's broom was used after hours on Monday night is going to get blamed," Rose explained.

"I-I figured it was Louis'," Albus offered weakly.

Rose shook her head. "He was one of the first people questioned like me, because of Uncle George. They already tested his broom and it was clean."

Albus looked completely distraught as he sunk his head into his hands. Scorpius, despite his own panic, jumped in to save both of their skins. "Look, Rose, I'm sure Tyler didn't know about that spell. He probably just grabbed the first broom he found. We'll find him and tell him everything you said. Just please don't tell anyone. We'll clean this up so no one has to get in trouble."

"No one? Not even Tyler?" Rose demanded.

Scorpius wracked his mind for anything that would keep Rose quiet. "Rose, I know you like rules. I do, too. It kills me when bad guys don't get justice. But what good would it do to get him expelled? He's our friend, and he's your family's friend, too. Just cut him some slack. Please?"

Rose thought for a long time before answering. "Fine. You have until tonight to fix it."

Scorpius grinned widely. "On it!" He grabbed Albus by the wrist, snapping him out of his self loathing trance. "C'mon, we've gotta find Tyler."

Evander gathered his things and followed, leaving Rose to contemplate what she had just done. Once they were out of the library and earshot, Evander said, "You guys really messed up," and quickened his pace to leave Al and Scorpius behind.

Watching his best friend walk away like that hurt. But he was right, and Scorpius didn't need Ev to tell him that. They had seriously messed up, and finding Tyler was the only way to make it right.

* * *

**A/N: Whew, I had a bit of writer's block, but I'm really glad with how this came out! Scorpius and Albus operate fairly similarly, so I wanted to highlight the differences in their personalities. And poor Rose! She's a bit of a brat, but she just wants to do the right thing.**

**Thanks for the reviews so far!**


	9. Mischief Managed

**Chapter Nine: Mischief Managed**

**Albus Potter**

* * *

Al and Scorpius spent all afternoon looking for Tyler.

The first place they checked was the Slytherin Common Room to no avail. Next, they checked his dormitory, which only granted them an earful about first-years needing to learn manners from his dorm-mates and a door slammed in their faces.

With the help of Rhett, who had relocated to sitting and staring at nothing in the Common Room as opposed to the Library, they learned that Ancient Runes was the only fourth-year elective offered at this time. When they asked what room it was in, Rhett only mumbled, "Hell if I know. I ain't never gave my afternoon for no ancient squiggles."

By this time Albus was ready to give up, but Scorpius remembered that their welcome packets had come with a full list of teachers, and they could find the room by the professor's name.

"It's not like Tyler would even take Ancient Runes," Albus complained.

Scorpius ran his fingers through his hair. Al could tell he felt just as hopeless, but finally he said, "Yeah, well, he's not here, so we have to try," and Al knew he was right.

The boys entered their room to find Evander reading alone on his bed. He immediately cringed at the sound of the door, but recognizing Al and Scorpius, he turned back to his book without another word.

Albus knew Scorpius was upset by his friend's silence, but Al had higher priorities than a moody roommate. He tore through his trunk, which he had yet to unpack, and found the welcome packet that he had thrown in there days earlier.

"Ancient Runes is taught by..."

Scorpius tore the papers out of his hands. "Lyman Gilleon. His room is 6A."

Albus groaned. "Really, the sixth floor? How do we even get there?"

But Scorpius was already halfway out the door. "Dunno. We'll find it somehow."

Al slammed his trunk shut and followed as Scorpius called over his shoulder, "See, Ev? We'll fix it!"

"We'll see. And up the main staircase, past the portrait of a unicorn, and it'll be the first room on your right in the East Wing," Evander replied without missing a beat.

The boys ran out of the dungeons and were completely winded by the time they reached the unicorn painting. "Right," Al said in between breaths, "so if this is the painting, then 6A has to be that door over-Scorpius, what are you doing?"

Before Albus could stop him, Scorpius had swung the door open. He couldn't make out exactly what was being said, but he heard gasps and laughter, followed by a lot of yelling.

Albus stood agape as Scorpius came back and sunk down on the floor beside him.

"What the bloody hell did you do that for?" he demanded.

Scorpius just dropped his head into his hands.

"Seriously, Scorp! You can't just go barging into classrooms!"

"I know!" he yelled. Al just stared back. This was too much; he couldn't take Scorpius being mad at him on top of everything else. It was only his first week at Hogwarts, and he's managed already managed to fall in with the wrong crowd and make a mistake worthy of expulsion. Al found himself wishing he was back home with his parents. James could be the only one to go to Hogwarts for all he cared. The last place he wanted to be was here in the hallway close to crying in front of Scorpius Malfoy.

"Look," Scorpius sighed. "I'm scared, too. Like really, really scared. We messed up big and we have to fix it. We seriously have to or my parents will never forgive me. They'll like, send me away to some muggle family so they don't have to see the mistake they raised."

Al shook his head and sat down next to Scorpius, who looked like he was going to cry, too. "That's exaggerating a bit, don't you think? I mean, living with muggles? What kind of punishment is that?"

Scorpius managed a weak grin. "You never know."

"Look, Scorp, my dad will be mad, too, but parents love you. It's like their job. One time when was little I took a bunch of ingredients from our potions cabinet and tried to make a potion because my little sister was sick and I thought it would make her better. All I did was blow up the kitchen. Mum was furious. She made me clean the kitchen by hand and wouldn't let me see friends for a month, but she let me out of the house eventually. Then again, I've never been-" Albus caught himself before he said 'expelled;' he couldn't manage to say the word out loud. Instead he tried, "Look, we aren't even in trouble yet. It's almost dinner so maybe Tyler will-"

"Dinner! Of course! He has to be there!" Scorpius was on his feet like he hadn't been curled up in a ball moments earlier. "C'mon!"

Albus wasn't as optimistic about this, especially not if it meant running into Rose, but he let his friend drag him downstairs anyway.

* * *

The Great Hall was already bustling with activity by the time they got downstairs. First and Second Years had no afternoon classes, and upper level students were just beginning to trickle out of their classes. Albus immediately noticed Rose's red hair at the far end of the Ravenclaw table, and he pulled Scorpius out of the doorway before she could notice them.

They waited at the Slytherin table for ten minutes, neither boy so much as touching the food. The Great Hall was completely full now; it seemed like every class was out.

"Scorpius, do you know who the fourth years are?" Albus asked.

"I know a couple. Why-no, I'm not asking them!" Scorpius said as he put two and two together.

"Really? They might know where he is! We have to find him soon. We have Astronomy with Ravenclaws tonight and-"

"How about you just call off your snob of a cousin, huh?" Scorpius yelled. The blond boy looked like he was at the end of his line. His hair, usually slicked back, was disheveled and falling into his face, and his robes and tie were crooked.

Albus laughed nervously to try to diffuse the tension. "We're really a wreck. Can't believe we let Rose get under our skin like this."

Scorpius didn't laugh, but he didn't yell this time. "Yeah, you're right. About finding Tyler, too. Let's go ask Cassian, he's down there." He pointed to a dark-skinned boy surrounded by a large group of other students who all appeared to be laughing at his joke.

"Who's that, and who named him king of Hogwarts?" Albus muttered.

"Zabini. Cassian Zabini." Albus immediately understood. He'd had the displeasure of knowing another Zabini, their roommate Sebestian, and he was-well, he was a lot of words that Albus' mother forbade him from saying.

"There's two of them?" Albus grumbled. "Wasn't one bad enough?"

Scorpius snorted. "Two? There's five. Adrian and Vivian still go here and Aurelian already graduated. Now come on, talking about how horrid they are isn't going to make this any easier."

To Albus' horror, Scorpius approached the group the same way he had a classroom: by diving in headfirst. The moment they walked up, a hush fell over the group and every eye turned to them.

"Cassian," Scorpius said flatly.

The older boy pursed his lips and held Scorpius' gaze unnaturally long. Albus recognized this look, it was the kind his mother gave a bug that had to be squashed.

"What do you want Malfoy?" Cassian replied, voice full of venom.

"Have you seen Tyler Jordan?"

Cassian gave his posse a look like this was the funniest thing he had heard all day. They all laughed as if on cue. "I don't keep tabs on blood traitors, Malfoy."

Scoprius turned around and left without another word, leaving Albus panicked and alone. He gaped and felt like a fish out of water as the Zabini posse turned to eye him. "What the hell do you want, Potter?"

"Nothing!" Albus' voice came out like a squeak. _Perfect_, he thought, and scampered away like a terrified mouse.

"What was that?" Albus demanded when he sat back down.

"That's how you communicate with the upper class," Scorpius said with a roll of his eyes. "Stand your ground, show no emotion, and say only what you must. That's what my dad always says anyway."

"Yeah, that sounds about right." Albus jumped at the new voice and looked up to see Sylvia and Eliana sitting down across from them.

"I thought you two went to the kitchens," Scorpius said.

"Yeah, we did," said Sylvia.

"And they were amazing!" said Eliana excitedly. "The House Elfs are precious. I mean, not precious, that's rude. But they were so nice and they do so much work."

"If you went, then why are you here?" Albus asked without thinking; it had come out far ruder than he'd meant it to.

"Everything they were cooking looked delicious," Eliana answered, "and I can never get enough food!"

Sylvia winked at the boys and giggled. It was no secret that a girl as big as Eliana liked food. "So why were you talking to the Snob Squad," she asked.

Scorpius looked like he was thinking up a lie, but Albus shrugged and told them the truth. "We're looking for Tyler Jordan."

"Oh, the loud guy with the funny hair? We saw him in the kitchens," Sylvia said.

"_What_?" Albus and Scorpius yelled at the same time.

Sylvia and Eliana looked to each other in confusion. "Um, yeah, we saw him there with a Gryffindor and Ravenclaw boy about an hour ago."

What had seemed like good news was now terrible, Albus thought. If he was there an hour ago, but he wasn't in the dormitories or the Great Hall, then they had absolutely no idea where he was.

Which meant that Albus had to use his last resort.

"Hey Scorpius, hang on a sec," he said, standing up.

"What are you doing. We kind of have a situation here," his friend replied.

"Yeah, and I'm trying to fix it. Just give me a minute." Scorpius looked skeptical, but nodded and turned back to the girls.

There was a knot in Albus' stomach as he made his way across the room. Talking to Cassian had been scary, but not as scary as approaching the Gryffindor table. Albus still couldn't help feeling like this was the house he was meant to be in, and he had been too ashamed to approach any Gryffindors, especially his family, since the sorting.

"Well look who finally decided to slither over," Roxanne greeted when Albus approached.

James looked surprise, too, but he recovered in a second and smiled. "What's up, little bro? Wanna sit with us?"

"Erm, no," Albus mumbled. Was he even allowed to do that? "I actually need a favor."

Albus knew James wasn't going to like what he was going to ask. But to his surprise, James smiled and nodded knowingly. "I knew you'd come to me."

"Really?" said Al.

"It's a girl, isn't? And James Potter is the master of getting girls."

Albus' face went white. "No, no, it's not that!"

"Lucky for you, cause James doesn't know shit about girls," said Roxanne.

"Charming, isn't she?" James said, nodding toward their cousin. "Give us a sec, Rox, brother on brother."

Albus followed James to an empty section of the table and sat down. Now that they were away from Roxanne, James' face was full of concern. "What's up, Al? Are you okay? You know, I didn't mean those things I said about Slytherin. I don't care what house you're in. Are you okay? You haven't talked to me in days," his words tumbled out all at once.

Albus felt a wave of relief rush over him. He had been avoiding his brother because he had been terrified of all these things. But as much as he loved hearing this apology, guilt was pricking at him and time was running out. He had to bring the subject back to why he was here. "Thanks James, really. But I don't have time to talk about that right now. I need your help finding someone."

"Oh," James' face fell. "How did you find out?"

"Extendable Ears. Really, James, you think I wasn't listening in when Dad pulled you into his office? I don't care that he gave it to you or whatever. I just need your help."

James sighed. "Who is it?"

"Tyler Jordan."

James quirked an eyebrow. "I'm not going to ask. Okay, never mind, I am. I love the bloke, but are you getting mixed up with him?"

Now Albus was getting annoyed. He didn't want to be cross-examined, he just wanted James to use the Marauder's Map and solve their problems. "Yes. No. Maybe. Kind of. I'm trying to get out of trouble, not into it. Just please help me!"

"All right, Merlin! Just...follow me." James grabbed Albus by the arm and pulled them out of the Great Hall, then turned into the first nook they found.

James pulled the map out of his pocket-it was always on him, of course. "I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good."

Albus' watched in wonder as the ground of Hogwarts swept across the formerly blank page. He had heard his father explain how the Map worked, but it was a whole other thing to watch it working. After a few moments, he snapped back to reality and started looking for Tyler.

"Here!" said James first. "Tyler, Fred, and Louis are in an empty classroom in the dungeons. It's past the Slytherin Common Room, to your left and-actually, just take the map. But I _swear_ I'll hex you if it's not back to me by tomorrow."

Albus smiled. This was perfect. He knew where Tyler was and things seemed to be fixed between his brother. "I promise!" He grabbed the map from his brother. "Mischief managed."

* * *

Now that they knew where Tyler was, Scorpius and Al were in much better spirits. They made their way through the dungeons as they watched their own footsteps move through the same hallway on the map.

"But how does this _work_," Scorpius asked for the fifth time.

"I don't know, my grandpa and his friends made it. It's some seriously complicated magic," Al said. After he'd heard his father explain it to James, he'd tried searching every book he could find for information about how the Map was made, but to Al's eternal frustration, he didn't even have the slightest clue. Now that James knew Al had overhead, he'd make him ask their dad.

"I think it's this one." Al squinted at the map and, sure enough, their footprints were outside the room with the prints of Louis Weasley, Fred Weasley, and Tyler Jordan.

Al and Scorpius were so engrossed in the map that they didn't notice the net drop from overhead until it was too late. Moments later, they were swooped toward the ceiling in a tangle of ropes and clothing.

"What the hell! Let us out!" Al shouted as Scorpius shot a few weak spells at the ceiling.

The classroom door cracked and a moment later, Fred appeared from beneath the invisibility cloak. "Albus. Scorpius. How nice to see you. Our apologies for the rude welcome. _Diffindo!"_

The boys started to plummet to the ground, but Fred caught them with a levitation spell and brought them gently to the floor. Al barely kept his balance as he landed, he was so dizzy from being captured and hung upside-down.

"Follow me, gentlemen." With his head still spinning, Al followed his cousin into the classroom.

What he saw inside looked like Weasley's Wizard Wheezes had exploded. There were hundreds of gadgets littering the room, some of them operational and moving around, others dissected or spewing parts. Beneath the windows, a few cauldrons were brewing, and in the center of the room, Louis and Tyler were bent over something that looked like a pot-sized Whomping Willow.

When Fred closed the door behind them, Tyler looked up. "Hey! Look who found our workshop, boys!"

Al gave up on trying to understand everything in the room and sighed. "So this is where you hide out. We've been looking for you all day."

"What for? Lonely? Bored? Need some merchandise? Ow!" While Tyler was talking, the willow had hit him in the arm.

"Watch it," Louis said as he prodded the tree with his wand.

"No, it's about Monday night," Scorpius said. "Rose told us that McGonagall is questioning every Ravenclaw to find out who did it."

Tyler tilted his head to one side. "Yeah. And?"

Albus couldn't believe how calm he was after all the commotion he'd caused. "She's reading broomsticks to find out!"

"I have already told him, naturally," Louis said without taking his eyes off the tree.

"Then how are you all so calm!" Albus demanded.

Tyler smiled and stood up. "Don't worry boys, I planned everything."

"A right genius, he is," Fred added.

Tyler made to put his arms around Al and Scorpius, but both of them dodged. "Tyler, you have to tell us whose broom you stole!" Scorpius said.

"That's the real beauty of it, boys." Tyler was beaming.

"Enoch Maurier," Fred said as if he had told they boys they'd won the lottery.

Albus and Scorpius looked from Fred, to Tyler, to each other. "Is that supposed to mean something to us?" Al asked.

Tyler shook his shoulders. "Enoch Maurier! Big fat bloke! The biggest git in the school! Well, one of 'em anyway."

Albus shoved Tyler's hands off. "Wait, that's what this is about? You framed this guy because you don't like him? Tyler, you're going to get him expelled!"

Tyler burst out laughing. "Expelled? That's rich. Did you hear, Fred?"

"Ah yes, remember First Year when we thought everything we did would get us expelled?"

"Everything you two did _should_ have gotten you expelled," called Louis.

"Tyler, if you'll let me explain," said Fred to Albus' relief. If Tyler said another word, Al thought he might punch him. "Enoch Maurier, while a Ravenclaw, is a pureblood and is as crazy about blood purity as any Slytherin you'll ever meet-no offense, Tyler."

"None taken."

"Maurier has called Tyler a blood traitor more times than I can count, and he gives Lucy a hard time about Aunt Audrey being a muggle every time he sees her. We can deal with all that, of course, all talk and no action."

"He hexed a first-year," Tyler said, unable to contain himself.

"He what?" Al sputtered.

Fred nodded gravely. "Last year, and it wasn't a simple hex either. Harvey Shaw is a muggleborn Hufflepuff who started Hogwarts last year. We were walking to class one day when we heard screaming and it wasn't anything we had done. So we went to see what the commotion was and saw the kid hanging from his feet with his underwear out there for the world to see."

"Dirty trick, even I wouldn't pull that," said Tyler bitterly.

Fred went on, "Maurier fled the scene and Shaw was too scared to admit who did it. McGonagall drove herself up a wall questioning him but to no avail. We heard through the grapevine that Maurier was behind it-"

"And trust me, we have our ways of being sure," said Tyler. "And don't you ask how, just know that we're dead positive.

Albus sat down on a nearby chair to process all this. He had come here dead-set on making Tyler confess, or at least erase the history of the broom he'd used somehow, but everything he had heard was making perfect sense. If Maurier had done everything they'd said, he deserved all this and worse.

"And that's why Tyler is complete genius," Fred said after giving Albus a minute. "He set all of this up on his own-for which I thank him. If I had known, even I would have broken under McGonagall's questioning."

Scorpius, too, seemed to be processing. "Why did you wait this long to get him if this happened last year?"

Tyler smiled. "Lesson one, boys: it's always best to wait until no one can possibly suspect you. Revenge is a dish best served lukewarm and laced with hemlock."

Scorpius finally sank into the chair beside Albus and laughed. "Fred's right, mate. You're bloody brilliant."

* * *

**A/N: Longest chapter yet! Good length? Too long? Anything I should cut out? Let me know what you think!**

**I'm almost to my Camp NaNoWriMo goal for this story, which is 20K words. Thank you all for the support of this story so far! This is my first time attempting a NaNo event and your feedback keeps me going :)**


	10. Lumos

**A/N: Hello, everyone! Sorry for the delay in posting. Since Camp NaNoWriMo is over, I took the time to really map out this series and gather all my notes before continuing to write. Now that everything is at my fingertips, updates will be prompt and frequent!**

**In the meantime, I went to the homeland: Universal's Wizarding World of Harry Potter! Trust me, it is phenomenal as it sounds. I got a wand (Snape's) and a timeturner, took a picture with Stan Shunpike, drank butterbeer and pumpkin juice... It was basically the greatest weekend ever, and now I'm even more inspired to continue with this story! I know there are pictures all over the internet, but if you're interested, my pictures are posted on my insta ninascribbles.**

**Without any further ado, here's the chapter!**

* * *

**Chapter Ten: Lumos**

**Rose Weasley**

* * *

Rose found herself yawning in the Great Hall first thing Thursday morning, which was a very un-Rose-like thing to do.

With all the commotion of the last few days, Rose was already feeling her schoolwork slip. She had waited for Albus and Scorpius outside the Astronomy Tower only to be relayed Tyler and Fred's story of Enoch Maurier's antics, which was far from what Rose had been expecting. Enoch was a bully, fair and square, and she was glad he was getting what was coming to him. But it didn't set right with her that Tyler and his crew were getting away scot-free.

For the entirety of their first astronomy lesson, Rose's mind was partially on this fact and partially on avoiding her cousin. When Professor Ambrose asked them to turn in their charts at the end of class, Rose thought hers was absolutely dreadful. It was still better than most of the class, of course, but Liza's definitely had more detail, and Rose couldn't let that happen again.

Class didn't get out until one-thirty in the morning, and since she still had to meet her personal book-a-day quota on top of her homework, she didn't get to sleep until three.

Thursday morning breakfast was abuzz with gossip in the Great Hall, but Rose was just barely keeping her eyes open between spoonfuls of oatmeal.

"What does everyone have to be so loud about," she mumbled with her mouth full and her eyes drooping.

"It's the Confettipalooza thing," Briony said. "Professor McGonagall caught the kid who did it! His name is Maurier, a Fourth-Year I guess."

Liza cut in as always. "I heard the Headmistress caught him because of his broom. _Prior fugam_ is a spell much like _prior incantato_ except that it-"

"-tells you the last time a broom was used, I know. Remember how I was questioned myself?" Rose went back to her oatmeal with no mind to the fact that Gloria and Liza were whispering about how rude she was.

Caring little for food or conversation, Rose was one of the first students out of the Great Hall. When she made her way up to the third floor Charms classroom, she had her pick of seats, and she uncharacteristically chose one farthest back. A few minutes later, several other Ravenclaws filtered in.

"What're you doing back here?" Briony asked as she dropped her books down next to Rose.

Rose shrugged. "Sitting."

"Well yes, I see that. Fine then Ms. Secrets." Briony settled into the seat and opened _Modern Wandlore From the Eighteenth Century and Beyond_. In her thirst for knowledge of the wizarding world, she was reading even faster than Rose these days.

Rose spent the next few minutes tapping her fingers on the desk. The nervous tick was at least keeping her awake, but she wasn't sure whether she'd rather be asleep having another nightmare or actually facing the nightmare that this class would be.

At the last possible second, Albus, Scorpius, and their quiet friend Evander came in. At first, Rose had been surprised to find Albus late for every class; he was usually very punctual. But by the end of their first week she was getting used to it. It must be part of being Slytherin, slacking off and disrespecting any sort of rules.

"Really, Rose? Where are we supposed to sit?" Albus grumbled.

Briony's eyes snapped up from her book and looked to the boys. "Oh, we're sorry! Are these your seats?"

Rose pulled Briony back as she actually moved to get up. "Albus, there are seats up front. You'd do well to sit where you can pay attention for once." _And not have to pay attention to me_, she added silently.

"Are you kidding? And it's not like we wanted to be late, our roommates-ugh, you know, never mind. Fine." Al stormed away while Evander and Scorpius, who had stared at Rose with his self-satisfied smirk the whole time, followed after.

"Snakes, the whole lot of them," Rose said once the boys were out of earshot. "You don't have to listen to them, you know."

Briony shifted uncomfortably. "I know, but Slytherins scare me."

"Don't tell me it's because of all that pureblood stuff. Briony, no witch or wizard is born better than another. Skill is all that matters and I'll bet that you have more magic in your pinky than they do in their whole bodies." Rose felt strange being a motivational speaker, but she had grown up having heard the same lecture from her parents her whole life. It was comforting until she found out that she did seem to have any magic, and those Slytherins probably were better than her.

But Briony smiled, and Rose was glad that the words had helped someone. "Thanks," she whispered.

"Good mo-o-rning class!" Professor Fontaine waltzed into the room with a flourish that Rose had come to expect from her Head of House. She wore a long dress that appeared to be stitched by hand, not even by magic, and, as always, she was in blue from head to toe.

"I am so sorry that I am late, dears. I was just discussing with Professor Starling about the current alignment of Venus and Jupiter. Very odd, very odd indeed," she went on.

Briony looked petrified. "Are we supposed to know what that means?"

Rose shook her head. "No, that's Divination junk. Has nothing to do with Charms. Nothing to do with anything actually."

"-So with that being said," the professor went on, "Who here knows anything about wandlore?"

Most of the class raised their hands, the Slytherins because of blood status pride and the Ravenclaws out of regular pride. A couple muggleborn Ravenclaw boys kept theirs down, but Briony's happily shot up. Rose kept hers down. Best not to stand out, she figured.

"Very good, very good. This is a bit different than your parents may have learned Charms in the past, but as we have no formal classes on wandlore or magical theory at Hogwarts-a dreadful shame if you ask me-I will be enriching your understanding of these subjects alongside your practical learning. Not to say that theoretical knowledge is not immensely important. Right Ravenclaws?"

Most of the Slytherins sneered and Professor Fontaine flustered.

"Oh, how very rude of me. I am sure plenty of you Slytherins treasure knowledge as much as we do. Two points to Slytherin as an apology. My students will earn it back anyway."

Now the Ravenclaws groaned. Without even doing anything they were in the hole, and Professor Fontaine wasn't off to a good start for the year.

"First, let us discuss why we even use wands. Why don't we just shoot fire out of our fingertips like they do in those silly muggle movies. Anyone? Yes?"

She had called on Scorpius from his front row seat. "Every witch or wizard is born with an innate magical spirit and the ability to channel it. You can draw it to the extremities, most often the hands, or the head for mind-magic like Legilimancy, but it is nearly impossible for it to ever exit the body. You need something that is a strong magical conductor, like the cores used in wands, to actually channel the power into a corporeal form."

To Rose's chagrin, their professor actually clapped with glee. "Brilliant answer! I am quite disappointed that you are not in my own house. And nice flair with the word "corporeal," though it was not quite accurate in this context, as spells are not usually tangible and are usually just glowy beams of light. Two more points to Slytherin."

The Ravenclaws groaned again. This time, Rose was less disappointed about the house points and more concerned that her professor had just used the phrase "glowy beams of light."

The Professor went on in spite of the protests. "Mr. Malfoy, would you please step to the front of the room?" Scorpius stood with a grin and swaggered up to Fontaine's desk. "Name and wand type, please."

"Scorpius Malfoy. Blackthorn, dragon heartstring, ten-and-a-half inches."

"A very sturdy wand. Unyielding, I assume?" Scorpius nodded. "Perfect for potion making, though I wouldn't expect anything less from Astoria Malfoy's son. I went to school with her, you know. But that is beside the point. On to today's lesson. Mr. Malfoy, would you be kind enough to perform the wand lighting charm? The incantation is-"

"Lumos!" Scorpius shouted and a beam of light shot out of the tip of his wand.

Fontaine clapped again! "Brilliant! Beautiful! You may sit down now, Mr. Malfoy." Scorpius obliged, but not without taking a bow.

"Showoff," Rose grumbled, and Briony chuckled.

"Lumos is my favorite spell to start with as the spell itself requires little to no magical theory. It is a very good indicator of how much pure magical control the user has. As such, we will be spending the next few weeks with only this spell, honing your abilities to channel your magic through your hands and into a wand, and meanwhile learn how and why you are doing that. In order to gauge your progress I will ask each one of you to step forward and try the spell. Do not worry if you can't do it right away. This isn't a test, and we all have to start from somewhere. Mr. Potter, would you come up next?"

Albus walked to the front of the room with much more reservation than Scorpius. "Albus Potter. Hawthorn, dragon heartstring, eight-and-three-quarter inches."

"A beautiful dueling wand, Mr. Potter. I look forward to seeing your spellwork. Please, go on."

Albus performed the spell just as easily as Scorpius had. So did Evander after him, followed by two girls Rose had seen hanging around her cousin.

Each name that was called felt to Rose like one name closer on death row. By the time Professor Fontaine had circled around to her, everyone had performed the spell to some degree of success except for Shaun and Lyle, the muggleborn Ravenclaws. Even Briony had managed a flicker at the tip of her wand.

Rose shuffled to the front of the room only when she had no other option. "Rose Weasley. Birch, seven inches even. Oh, and, um. Kneazle whisker. The core."

The teacher nodded. "A very theoretical wand. Birch does not concentrate magic well, and kneazles are very strong-willed and temperamental creatures. You need to have a strong will yourself in order to tell it what to do."

Rose swallowed the lump in her throat. Ollivander had given her a similar warning when she purchased her wand, but after nearly an hour of trying different wands, it had been the only one to even slightly buzz in her hand.

Her hand felt like lead as she raised it toward the rest of the classroom. "Lumos!"

And nothing.

"Lumos!" Rose yelled louder. This time there were a few whispers around the room."

"No mind, dear," Professor Fontaine spoke quickly as if intentionally silencing the gossip. "It doesn't always come to everyone the first day, and I'm not at all surprised with that wand of yours. Do sit down as we move along. Very good exercise, class. Now as I was saying about channeling your energy-"

Rose made her way back to her desk as if no one else were alive in the world, which was one thing that she was very good at. That and reading. And picking up new languages. And learning people's secrets. And basically anything besides dumb magic and dumb wands and Professor Fontaine's dumb glowy beams of light. So Rose sat down and channeled out the rest of the lecture, which she didn't need anyway, and instead went back to nodding off until it was time for Potions.


End file.
